Evangelion: God's Wings
by Bahamut2n8
Summary: Evangelion Unit 01 has absorbed the Third Angel. Shinji, unsure about his future and what he should do, discovers friends and family in his struggles to understand Eva, life and himself. But others try to take that away from him. (NOT A WING CROSSOVER!)
1. God's Wings 0:1 The Beginning

Disclaimer: I own nothing. Nada. Zilch.  
  
---------------------------------------------------------------------------- --Evangelion: God's Wings  
  
"We apologize, but do to the state of emergency all phone lines have been disconnected. This is a recording." A grumble was heard followed by the sound of the pay phone hanging up.  
  
"This is stupid! I never should have come." Echoed the statement of a fourteen year old boy as he looked again at the photo of the woman he was supposed to meet. His voice carried across the empty streets and signs saying there was an emergency and to proceed to the nearest shelter.  
  
"Maybe I should just find a shelter. . . she isn't coming. This is stupid. Why did I even come?"  
  
Turning around, Shinji Ikari caught his first look at Rei Ayanami. She seemed to be an illusion, and the fact she disappeared a second later reinforced that fact. He stared at the spot were he had seen her, contemplating his sanity.  
  
Shaking his head, Shinji turned and headed down the road to find a shelter.  
  
Some small birds were stirred up, and they took flight. Shinji watched them in envy. He had never flown before, but he had dreamed of flying. To him, flying was absolute freedom, away from the pain of normal life.  
  
Shinji stopped when he felt the ground shaking. "Any earthquake?!?" The shaking stopped a moment later, but was soon followed by another, and continuously ran in that cycle.  
  
The shaking almost felt like. . . "Footsteps!?"  
  
The sound of VTOL engines made the boy spin towards the source of the sound. Three assault craft hovered around a small mountain, retreating from a giant creature.  
  
"What the hell is that!?!" The aircrafts fired volleys of bullets into the monstrosity, but it just kept walking seemingly unaffected. It raised one of its arms, and used a biological pole that shot out of it's arm to smash through one of the retreating VTOLs.  
  
The wrecked aircraft landed a few dozen feet from the frightened Shinji. He barely had time to raise his hands over his head before the wind blast from the crash hit him, along with debris tossed up in the explosion. Suddenly, the wind was blocked and he couldn't feel anymore small rocks pelting his skin.  
  
Shinji looked up to see a small blue sports car between him and the approaching Angel. The side door of the car opened, held by the woman he was supposed to meet.  
  
"Get in!" Shinji didn't need to be told twice. He dove into the car. The violet haired woman behind the wheel threw the car into reverse, backing it into a debris pile a second before the monster's foot came crashing down where the car was. Falling concrete pounded on the roof of the car and created large dents above Shinji before the car was floored.  
  
A moment later Shinji and the woman named Misato were miles away from the monster, which was proceeding into the forest beyond the city. They stopped outside the city, where they could see the giant walking. The VTOL were still there, but were just tiny dots from this distance.  
  
Misato was bent over Shinji, who was trying not to be too interested in the Major's breast hanging near his head. Misato watched the fight through binoculars. She was just in time to observe the aircrafts scatter, trying to get away from the target at maximum velocity.  
  
"Wait a minute . . . They're going to use an N2 mine! GET DOWN!" Misato grabbed the boy, and shoved him down on the seats, covering his body with her own two seconds before a ground-shaking explosion consumed not only the behemoth but also the entire mountain as well. Shockwaves rocked the small car, flipping it over and over off the street.  
  
Finally the car stopped moving and stood on its side. Cautiously, two heads peeked up out of the window of the car, watching the aftermath of the explosion die down.  
  
Misato climbed out of the car through the window now facing up, and helped Shinji crawl out the same way. "Are you OK?"  
  
"Phht. . . My mouth is full of dirt . . . *spit* . . . "  
  
"You'll be ok." Misato put her back to the roof of the car. "Could you give me a hand with this?" Shinji followed her lead, and on a three count, were able to right the car.  
  
"Thanks, Shinji. You know, you're pretty useful."  
  
"Thanks, I guess."  
  
"Come on, we had better get going. I need to get you somewhere safe, or my butt's in trouble."  
  
~0~  
  
"Don't worry, his safety is my top priority!"  
  
'It is!?!' thought Shinji as he and Misato cruised down the road into the city. 'We've already speeding, nearly flipped the car twice, and traveled over half the way to this place in the wrong lane, and now she's doing it with one hand on the wheel and talking on a cell phone, and she says safety is her top priority!?!'  
  
"Could you get a car train ready for us? An express, of course. Thank you, buh-bye." Misato hung up the phone and turned to Shinji. 'Awww . . . This car was just repaired and it's a wreck already . . . Thirty-three more payments, plus the cost of repairs . . .'  
  
"Um, Misato?"  
  
'And my favorite blouse is ruined! I looked so good in it . . .'  
  
"Misato?"  
  
"Oh! Um, yes Shinji?"  
  
"Those batteries, isn't that, um . . . " Shinji's face scrunched into an accusing stare. " . . . theft?"  
  
"Well, um, we needed a working car, right? Besides, it was an emergency. Plus, I'm a government official, so it was for official reasons, and it's alright, ok? Ok."  
  
"Humph."  
  
Misato gave the boy an amusing glance. "You know, you're not as cute as I thought you would be."  
  
"And you're not as mature as I thought you would be."  
  
Days later Shinji still could not recall how the Major managed to keep the car going down the street when both of her hands were reaching out to strangle him.  
  
~0~  
  
The door opened to admit the small car without a sound, and Misato drove it onto the elevator. Although the side of the train the car was facing was windowed, they could not see anything for there was nothing but concrete as the car was carried down.  
  
"Shinji, do you have your summons?"  
  
"Oh! Um, yeah, here." Shinji handed Misato a letter from his pocket. It was extremely wrinkled as if it had been crumbled and thrown in the trash, and was actually in pieces and taped back together. It only said his name and the word 'Come!'  
  
Misato looked at it. "Ok, here, read this." She handed the boy a book, taped shut to indicated it had not been opened, and was labeled top secret. Its title was NERV.  
  
"Nerv? My father's organization? I'll be working with my father?"  
  
"That's right!"  
  
Shinji's face turned sour. 'Father . . . . . .'  
  
Misato watched him. "Don't get along with your dad, huh? You sound just like me . . . "  
  
Shinji sat in silence, but opened the manual he was given and began to read, to at least pass the time away and to distract him from thoughts about his father. However, his brain screamed out one question he could not ignore.  
  
"Will . . . Will I see my father?"  
  
"Of course!"  
  
Shinji didn't respond. He sat in silence as the train took the two farther down underground. Eventually, they passed the concrete and the windows beheld a magnificent site.  
  
"A . . . geofront! A real Geofront!"  
  
Misato grinned. "That's right. This is Tokyo-3, a fortress for mankind. To stand against the Angels." Shinji stared out at the grass below him and the pyramid-shaped building. Above, there looked like skyscrapers hung upside down.  
  
"Magnificant, isn't it? This Geofront was made to combat the Angels. It's our last hope."  
  
~0~  
  
Shinji had stopped counting the number of doors he had gone through with Misato a long time ago, now just reading the manual and following her down the catwalk they were on. Another door opened before them, and the wind from within the chamber beyond blew Misato's skirt up.  
  
"It's because of these things that I hate to wear a skirt around here. Um, I'm sorry about all of this. This place is still kind of new to me . . . ."  
  
"I think that we passed this place twice already."  
  
Misato grumbled, and picked up her cell phone to make a call. Shinji returned to his manual. After getting off the catwalk, Misato lead Shinji down two more corridors and finally to an elevator. They descended several levels.  
  
When the doors of the elevator opened, they revealed a blonde scientist, clad in bathing suit and lab coat.  
  
"Oh! Um, hi there, Ritsuko . . . "  
  
The look on Ritsuko's face was both amused and annoyed. "Got lost again, huh?"  
  
"Er, sorry . . . "  
  
"Hmm. You know, we're short on both manpower and time. We can't spend our time tracking you down twice a day."  
  
"I said sorry. How did you find us so fast, Ritsuko?"  
  
"Knowing you, I had a tracker placed in your phone from day one."  
  
Misato grimaced and Ritsuko looked down at Shinji. "So, this is the boy?"  
  
"That's right. According to the Marduke report, he's the third child. Shinji, this is Dr. Ritsuko Akagi, Ritsuko, this is Shinji Ikari."  
  
Ritsuko smiled. "Pleased to meet you, Shinji."  
  
"Pleased to, um, meet you too."  
  
The group finally exited out of the elevator, and followed Ritsuko to where they needed to be. Shinji didn't know exactly where that was, but he stayed with them. Ritsuko had the group walk on to a lift, which carried them up along a wall of pink. Had Shinji been paying attention, he would have noticed that the wall was a holding tank, or at least the giant hand reaching out to the side of the tank.  
  
Shinji wasn't really paying attention to the two women. They were carrying on about a unit one and unit zero, something about a zero-nine system, and funding.  
  
Coming to the top, they only walked a short distance before entering a large, completely dark room.  
  
"What . . . why is it so dark in here?"  
  
The door closed behind them, enclosing them in complete darkness and causing Shinji to gasp in surprise. Then the lights turned on.  
  
Shinji found himself suddenly sitting down.  
  
In front of him was a large, purple head. Its empty eyes seemed to stare right through him.  
  
"Wha . . .What is . . . A face? . . . A giant robot!?"  
  
"Correct!"  
  
Shinji barely recognized the voice. He slowly looked up above the robot to an observation room above. Through the glass windows stood a man whom Shinji hoped he would never have to see again. A man whom he had not seen in over three years, a man whose cold heart drove Shinji away, leaving him with people who did not really care for the boy. A man he called father.  
  
"It's been awhile." Said Gendo Ikari. There was no smile, no emotion in his voice.  
  
Shinji turned away in disgust and fear, unable to look him in the eyes. Gendo didn't react.  
  
Ritsuko spoke up. "This is Evangelion - mankind's ultimate combat machine. This is the only thing that can stand up to the Angels."  
  
Gendo interrupted her. "We're moving out."  
  
Misato looked like she had stuck a knife in an electrical socket. "Wait a minute! How can we?!? Unit 00 is still in cryostasis!" She looked at Ritsuko, and then to the Eva. "You're going to use unit 01? But, Rei can't do it yet! We don't have a pilot!"  
  
Ritisko didn't even flinch. "We just received one."  
  
Misato's mouth worked, trying to form words. "You mean . . . Shinji!?! But . . . even Rei Ayanami took three months to synchronize with her Eva! He just got here!"  
  
"All he needs to do is sit in the seat. We don't expect him to do any more than that. Look, Major, we don't have a choice. He's the only one who can right now. If he has even the slightest chance of synchronizing with unit 01, then we have to risk it."  
  
Misato slumped over, defeated. "It's . . . It's your choice Shinji."  
  
Shinji looked up at his father after a moment of silence. "Why . . . why did you send for me father?"  
  
"Because I had a use for you."  
  
"And. . . you. . . you . . . why did you have to send for me?!?"  
  
"If you're going to do it, do it, for else leave and never return!"  
  
"I . . . I . . . How could you do this to me?!? I've never even see this thing before! I can't!"  
  
Rumbling could be heard, close to the base. Gendo looked up. "It's close. It can sense us. Make your choice!"  
  
Misato looked down at the frightened youth. "Shinji, you have to stand up to him. Get in."  
  
"No! I can't! I JUST CAN'T!"  
  
Silence. Then, Gendo sighed and turned to a com terminal on the wall. "Fuyutsuki."  
  
"Yes, sir?"  
  
"Our spare is unusable. We will have to use Rei."  
  
"Of course sir."  
  
A new screen appeared where Fuyutsuki once was, but now it said 'Voice only'. "Rei."  
  
"Yes, sir?"  
  
"You will do it again."  
  
". . . Yes sir."  
  
Shinji stood were he was, ignoring the glares he was getting from his father and Risiko. The door he had entered through opened, and he could he footsteps and wheels moving across the metal catwalk. Looking up turned out to be a shock.  
  
The blue haired girl he thought he saw earlier outside was now being wheeled in on a hospital bed. However, unlike earlier, her head and right arm were heavily bandaged. Blood stained the bandages and an IV hung from a pole to drip fluid into a needle in her arm. She struggled to get up, crying out in pain as she did so.  
  
Shinji cringed. 'Why . . . She's . . . It's . . . not right . . .'  
  
Then, a powerful shockwave hit the facility without warning. It knocked everyone over; including the bed Rei had been lying on and sends her tumbling. Light fixtures the size of cars was shaken loose above Shinji, and fell towards the catwalk below. Shinji barely had time to realize and react before they were upon him. He braced himself for the blow.  
  
It never came. Looking up, Shinji beheld a sight he never would have expected.  
  
The hand of unit one was above him, blocking the fixtures from harming him.  
  
"The Eva activated itself!"  
  
"But that's impossible! The entry plug wasn't even inserted!"  
  
"Did it move to protect something? To protect him?"  
  
Shinji wasn't listening to the babble of the people around him. He rushed to the girl that he thought shouldn't be there. He carefully picked her up, but still she cried out in pain. He felt some warm liquid cover his hand underneath her.  
  
It was blood.  
  
"I mustn't run away . . . I mustn't run away . . . I'LL DO IT! I'LL PILOT IT!"  
  
~0~  
  
Shinji sat in the chair; inside the long white cylinder they called an Entry plug. He had no idea what to expect or do, but he hoped that Misato and the others would help him as much as they could. Momentum and sound of mechanical apparatus told him that the plug was lowered into the Eva.  
  
Shinji couldn't see a thing besides the white wall of the entry plug, but he could certainly hear. Communications from the control room, or whatever, were constant.  
  
"Plug secure."  
  
"Connections to the Eva beginning."  
  
"Filling the entry plug."  
  
Shinji barely had time to think 'filling?' before a pink liquid rose up from the bottom of the entry plug and began to immerse him. He instinctively held his breath. 'Are they trying to drown me?!?'  
  
"Shinji! Don't worry, once the LCL fills your lungs, your blood will be oxygenated directly. You'll get use to it."  
  
Not convinced, Shinji still held his breath until he couldn't hold it any longer. Air bubbles exploded out of his mouth and LCL rushed in to fill the vacuum in his lungs.  
  
It tasted like blood.  
  
"I think I'm going to be sick . . . "  
  
"No complaining!" Came Misato's voice. "You're a man, you know!"  
  
Shinji's face looked pained. 'Your trying to drown me because I'm a boy?'  
  
"Connecting the pilot to the Eva."  
  
"Beginning nerve connections. Starting synchronization." Suddenly the plug filled with a display of images, including rainbows of colors and landscapes.  
  
'Whoa . . . It's like traveling through another world . . .'  
  
Then, monitors came up around Shinji, displaying what was around him. He could see the catwalk, the observation room, and the techs located around him.  
  
"He's past the border line. No problem detected."  
  
"Incredible, he's steady at forty percent . . . "  
  
"Right. Magi report no problems or fluxulations."  
  
Misato's voice raised above the others. "Get ready for launch."  
  
"Primary safety locks disengaged."  
  
"Secondary restrictions removed." Shinji watched as the walls on the side of the Eva moved forward, freeing the Eva's arms.  
  
"Move Unit 01 to the launch tube." A sudden jerk, and Shinji could feel the Eva being moved backwards and slightly upwards a ways before coming to a stop.  
  
"Open launch bay!"  
  
"Launch bay number 5 doors opened."  
  
"Eva launch!"  
  
The sudden force of being thrown upwards surprised Shinji almost as much as the LCL did. He was pretty sure he left his stomach behind, along with his brain and liver. However, he knew his heart was still with him, trying to break out of his chest, and his feet where all of his blood rushed.  
  
The Eva jerked again to a stop as sudden as it started.  
  
'I need to talk to Misato about these little surprises.'  
  
Shinji looked around, and found he was once again in the city. The Angel that had nearly stomped on him was only a few blocks away. However, being as high as most of the buildings surrounding him, a few blocks felt more like a few feet.  
  
"Disengage final safety locks!" The Eva leaned forward, now not even connected to the catapult and standing freely. "Eva unit 01, move out!"  
  
'And how am I supposed to do that!? I don't know how! And that thing is right there!'  
  
"Shinji." Ritsuko's voice came over the com. "Just concentrate on walking for now. Eva reacts to your thoughts - just think about walking."  
  
"Walk . . . ." Concentrating, Shinji felt the Eva's right foot slowly move forward, taking its first step.  
  
"He's walking!"  
  
"Walking . . . ." Unit 01's left foot now moved forward. However, Shinji saw the Angel move forward and Shinji recoiled in fear. The Eva stopped in mid step, and unbalanced, fell unceremoniously to the pavement.  
  
"Shinji!" He looked up to see the Angel right on top of him, looking down at him. "You've got to get up! Shinji!"  
  
The angel helped the Eva get up by grabbing Unit 01's head and picking it up off it's feet. Unit 01 hung in its grasp as the Angel grabbed the Eva's left arm and pulled. Shinji cried out as he felt a tightening around his real arm.  
  
"Shinji, that's not your real arm!"  
  
Misato was shouting, but Shinji was in too much pain to hear right. Then, just as the Eva's arm snapped with a terrible cracking, Shinji felt his own arm snap. Pain, unimaginable pain wracked through his body, emanating from his arm and spreading. He didn't know he could feel such pain.  
  
"Left arm damaged!"  
  
"His defense systems aren't responding! His field isn't up!"  
  
"It's not up?!?"  
  
Shinji was grimacing in remembered pain, clutching his left arm. He barely noticed that the hand that held his Eva and spread across most of his front monitors was glowing before his head exploded in new pain.  
  
"AAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHH!!"  
  
"There's a crack in front of the brain case!"  
  
"That armor can't take much more!"  
  
Then Shinji's head split open. Or, rather, it felt like it did when the Angel finally punched through the Eva's head. The blow sent the Eva flying backwards into a building, slumping and spilling blood everywhere.  
  
"We're having trouble maintaining activation. Dammit, Eva has ceased activation, it's gone silent!"  
  
' . . . this isn't fair, this isn't right . . . '  
  
"Status Report!"  
  
' . . . help . . . me . . .'  
  
"Links to the pilot are severed! His condition's unknown!"  
  
"We've got no choice - eject the entry plug!"  
  
"We can't! It's not accepting the signal!"  
  
"What did you say!?!"  
  
' . . . anyone . . . help me . . . I . . . I . . . hate this . . . father . . . angels . . . damn it . . . I hate . . . hate . . . hate . . . '  
  
~0~  
  
Maya Ibuki, tech bunny number 1, was desperate to reconnect unit 01 and find out what was going on. To eject the entry plug and get the new pilot out of there. To get unit 01 working. To do something.  
  
She was a little surprised when the graphs and charts that were previously blank after unit 01's shutdown fill with data. It could mean only one thing.  
  
"Eva has reactivated!"  
  
She stared at the view screens ahead of her and watched the Eva stand, it's remaining eye glowing. Glancing at her terminal, she recoiled. "Doctor Akagi!"  
  
Ritsuko looked over her shoulder. "Shinji's synch ratio is all over the charts!"  
  
"Berserker!"  
  
The Eva picked itself up, and Ikari smiled. "We've done it."  
  
"Mutations within the Eva!" Gendo, for the first time anyone could remember stood up from his seat in shock. He hadn't expected this to happen.  
  
Ritsuko looked over Maya's station. "This is impossible! Evas cannot change their internal natures like this! The bindings won't hold!" As soon as she spoke, the armor plates surronding the Eva's stomach exploded, revealing a hard, red sphere implanted in its chest.  
  
"What the hell is going on Ritsuko!?!"  
  
"I don't know! The Eva is repairing itself and breaking loose! This shouldn't be happening!"  
  
"Dear God . . . Eva's core . . . "  
  
The Eva's core pulsed with light and energy. Unit one opened its mouth, revealing a set of teeth that had not been there before. It remaining eye was now round instead of its usual narrow shape and glowing red, looking around like a human eye in any normal person. However, the scariest aspect of the transformed Eva was the grunts and roars the biomechanical monster made.  
  
Eva charged the third angel down, and jumped up, landing on the angel's face. Two punches, and the Eva leaped off the angel to land a few hundred feet from it. The Angel recoiled in shock, it head and torso thrown back. Unit 01 charged, but was stopped by an energy field that projected like an orangle hexagon.  
  
"An AT Field!"  
  
"As long as that field in up . . . "  
  
"It can't get near that Angel!"  
  
Unit one backed off for a second and raised its damaged left arm. It eyes glowed brighter for a moment, then the damaged area repaired itself.  
  
"The left arm . . . regenerated itself!"  
  
"No way . . . "  
  
Now using both arms, Unit 01 pushed against the AT field of the Angel. It's fingers only took a second to make a hole.  
  
"Unit 01 is spreading its own AT field - it neutralizing the phase-face."  
  
"It's breaking through it!" At that exact second the Eva ripped the AT field apart like paper.  
  
"It broke through that AT field like it wasn't even there!"  
  
The Eva growled at the Angel, daring it to do something. The Angel's eyes glowed, and the Eva was consumed in the Angel's blast. Buildings cracked and shattered from the force of the blast, as it spread into the shape of a cross.  
  
The explosion died down, and Unit 01 could be seen. It lifted its head, hardly even phased by the Angel's attack, and then grabbed the Angels arms in its hand. Unit 01 twisted its hand, breaking the arms off the Angel's body and kicked its body hundred of yards away.  
  
Eva unit 01 didn't give the Angel any time to react. It charged down the Angel and pinned it down with its arms. It's mouth opened and descended.  
  
Sounds of crunching and slurping echoed across the city and countryside as the Third Angel was consumed by the berserk Unit 01.  
  
"It's . . . eating the . . . Angel . . . "  
  
"Why . . . why . . . ?"  
  
Maya hurled while Aoba had to turn away, green in the face. Ritsuko stood in horrified paralysis, and Misato was twitching.  
  
The cries of the Angel died down, but the Eva did not stop until every last piece of the Angel was consumed. Then it stood up, roaring as the bindings on its back and neck snapped off. The shoulder blades designed to carry the progressive knives shot off, landing with a clatter on the streets.  
  
"Those plates weren't just armor. The Eva is removing the things that bind it to our will. The beast is now free to its own will."  
  
Misato stood in shock. Her body wouldn't move and her brain was not even able to form coherent thoughts.  
  
Gendo stood in silence.  
  
The command center stood silent until the voice of Shuga shouted, "I've got readings on the pilot!"  
  
"What's his status!?!"  
  
"He's still breathing!"  
  
"Synch ratio is fluxuating all over the place!"  
  
"Psychograph is extremely unstable!"  
  
"He's going to convulsions!"  
  
"Get him out of there! Eject, Eject!"  
  
"Negative, the signal isn't being accepted!"  
  
"Psychograph is deteriorating!"  
  
"Shinji!"  
  
Eva unit one bent over, and the entry plug rocketed out of its back, blowing the armor plating that covered the plug clean off. It's eyes continued to glow, but slowly faded as the Eva unceremoniously toppled over like a puppet whose strings were cut.  
  
"Entry plug has been ejected, but it wasn't us!"  
  
"What do you mean?"  
  
"We weren't transmitting the signal at the time!"  
  
"What is Unit 01 status?"  
  
"The Eva has gone completely silent. It's not moving. Power is confirmed to be cut. There's now way it can move."  
  
Gendo cleared his throat. All noise in the command center stopped immediately. He sat down; his arms folded in front of his face and hid his mouth from view.  
  
"Send rescue teams to the entry plug immediately. Have the third child brought to the medical center for a complete physical and mental examination - find out if he can still pilot. Have recovery teams get unit 01 into a level seven holding area immediately and begin testing on its feasibility for use."  
  
"Yes sir"  
  
"Roger."  
  
~0~  
  
**Flash** Crawling into Evangelion Unit 01.  
  
**Flash** See a young boy in the observation room outside the Eva.  
  
**Flash** Meeting Fuyusuki for the first time.  
  
**Flash** Wedding Bells.  
  
**Flask** College.  
  
**Flash** **Flash** **Flash**  
  
'Who . . . What? . . .' Shinji's mind was in chaos. He knew he was in Eva 01, but then something happened. His brain was overrun with thoughts, feelings, images, memories, too many for him to process or even really see as they were coming in so fast.  
  
'Ahh . . . Who is . . . Who. . . Eva? . . .'  
  
Then, he was ripped away from all of this. Shinji's mind felt like a radio whose antenna was just snapped. He was suddenly aware of his body again as the entry plug impacted on something hard and unforgiving.  
  
Shinji lay in darkness and silence. It was fifteen minutes before he heard a knocking outside the plug.  
  
"Hey kid, you OK in there?"  
  
Shinji didn't respond.  
  
"Hey kid!"  
  
Light surrounded Shinji as the entry plug was opened. He could make out a hand reaching out for him, and he recoiled.  
  
"He's alive! Let's get him to the infirmary!"  
  
~0~  
  
"This wasn't part of either scenario, Fuyusuki." Gendo sat in his cavernous office, as his right hand stood in front of him.  
  
Fuyusuki nodded. "Seele is going to have our heads on a platter."  
  
"No, the Eva was beyond our control. This was an accident. Eva 01 is to be placed into cryostasis immediately, only to be released if deemed necessary by the committee. We cannot be taking risks this early into the game."  
  
"Of course, sir. But that leaves us in a dangerous position."  
  
"Indeed."  
  
"With only one pilot, and that if he chooses not to go AWOL, and no Evangelions combat ready, we are vulnerable. What is Yui up to?"  
  
"We will have to call in unit 02 from Germany. The second child will be brought in immediately to pilot it, with the Third Child as the backup for Unit 02."  
  
"What of Adam?"  
  
"Leave that to me. Make the necessary preparations. You are dismissed."  
  
"Yes sir." 


	2. God's Wings 0:2 New Life, New Friend

Disclaimer: I own everythin . . . Opps, wrong court . . .  
  
_______________EVANGELION_GODS_WINGS__________________  
  
Shinji awoke with a start. His breath was shallow and fast, like he had been running. Light was shining in his eyes, and he closed them instinctively. Images flashed before him. Evangelion. Father. Angel.  
  
Shinji bolted upright in the bed he was laying on. It took a minute for him to settle down and observe his surroundings.  
  
'This isn't my room . . .' Everything was sanitary white, and devoid of almost all furnishings save the bed he laid on, a dresser with a glass of water resting on top, and a few windows.  
  
'It wasn't a dream . . . damn. But what happened? I don't remember . . .'  
  
The scene replayed in his mind for the young Ikari. Rising out of the launch tube. His not so successful attempt at walking. Being lifted up by the Angel. The Angel breaking his arm. Crying out in pain. His head being split open and slammed into a building. Then . . . Then . . .  
  
'Nothing. . . I can't remember anything after . . .'  
  
Shinji sat in silence, the minutes feeling like hours as he waited for anyone to come and tell him what was going on. He lay in bed for hours, staring out the window of his room.  
  
Hours past and no one came to visit or check up on the young man. Not even a nurse. Only one living being came to see him, and it wasn't human. A scraping sound outside of the room's window had surprised Shinji out of his mind's vegetable state.  
  
Sitting, perched outside of his window, was a large bird. A hawk, to be exact. It sat on the sill of the window, looking around the inside of Shinji's room until it gaze rested on Shinji.  
  
As Shinji looked into the hawk's eyes, he began to admire them. Those eyes had a superior quality to them, expressing a level of confidence and pride, which Shinji had no real experience of. The eyes made Shinji feel empty inside.  
  
The hawk turned and spread it's wings to the full length, blocking a majority of the window and the light that once streamed through the glass and awoke Shinji from his sleep. The outline of the hawk's shadow enclosed Shinji completely in darkness before the hawk launched off the sill of the window.  
  
'I envy you . . .' thought the young Ikari as he watched the hawk disappear from his view.  
  
After gazing out the window for five more minutes, Shinji determined that the hawk was not coming back. 'I think I'll leave here too.' Shinji glanced down to make sure the hospital gown he was wearing was secure and covered all necessary components, then swung his legs over the edge of the bed and walked out of the room.  
  
Outside of his room was just as plain as inside. The hallway outside of his door was all white, and sunlight poured in from a row of windows across from the doors lining the hallway. Other than room numbers, there was no difference between the rooms.  
  
Shinji leaned again the far wall and stared out at the Geofront's interior, gazing out at the lake and pyramid shaped building he had only seen once since arriving in Tokyo-3. However, the noise of squeaky wheels coming down from the far end of the hall persuaded him to look up towards the source of the noise.  
  
Two women clad in white were wheeling a hospital bed down the hallway. The bed's occupant was the blue-haired girl he had held before agreeing to pilot. The same girl whom he had seen before his first encounter with an Angel.  
  
'Rei Ayanami, I think . . . you look familiar to me, but I don't know why . . .'  
  
As the group moved past Shinji, he noticed that the uncovered red eye of the girl was looking right into his own eyes. Her other eye was covered in gauze.  
  
'Your red eye . . . why do you stare at me? . . . Is it because your in pain . . . or because I piloted for you?'  
  
Rei's cold, red eye gave no answers for the confused boy as her bed moved farther down the hall, eventually out of his sight and leaving the boy once again alone with his thoughts.  
  
~0~  
  
After finding his clothes back in his room, Shinji had decided he didn't want to stay in that place anymore. He dressed himself, and without anyone stopping him, he left the building. He found himself in front of a large field, with few real structures in sight. Guessing how large the complex was, to hold Evangelions and such, he figured there would be more buildings. This lead him to believe that most of the facilities here had to be underneath him, covered by the grass and lake he stood on and next.  
  
Shinji sat down at the edge of the man-made lake and breathed in the recycled air around him. He stared up at the top of the Geofront. He could still plainly make out the skyscrapers that hung upside down from the ceiling.  
  
A flutter of a shadow passing over him startled Shinji, and he scanned the skies for the source. He found it a moment later.  
  
'Hello. . . We meet again. . .'  
  
The hawk was aloft in the sky, making lazy circles around the field. There didn't seem to be any reason for the hawk to be flying right now, and it seemed to Shinji that it was just flying for fun.  
  
The thought of flying just for the fun of it, enjoying life, brought a small smile to Shinji's face as he watched the bird.  
  
The hawk screeched, as if announcing it's existence to the world, and continued to glide along the currents provided by whatever gave this dome it's air and wind. It continued its lazy circles before turning into a patch of woods nearby.  
  
As Shinji watched the hawk disappear, he heard footsteps behind him. Turning, he saw Misato approaching him. She looked exhausted, but a happy- go-lucky smile on her face concealed some of her fatigue to the young boy. She sat down next to him.  
  
"Misato?"  
  
"Hey, Shinji. Sorry I couldn't come visit you earlier, I've been busier than a bee."  
  
"It's alright." Shinji lay back down on the grass, looking out at the woods where the hawk had disappeared, hoping that it would come back so he could watch it fly again.  
  
The two sat in silence for a moment before Misato spoke up again.  
  
"Shinji, um . . . how do you feel?"  
  
"Alright, I guess. . ." Shinji didn't turn to face her. He just continued to look at the forest while laying down on the grass.  
  
"That's good."  
  
"Hmmm."  
  
Another moment passed.  
  
"Hey, Shinji, what are you doing here, anyway? Why did you leave the hospital?"  
  
"Was I supposed to stay there?"  
  
"No, you weren't really in intensive care or anything, so it wasn't really important that you stayed. I just wished you told someone you were leaving. It makes tracking you down easier."  
  
"Hmmm."  
  
"You haven't answered my question."  
  
"Hmmm? Oh, what am I doing?"  
  
"Yeah. I'm just curious."  
  
"Bird watching, I guess."  
  
Misato smirked at Shinji. "Haven't spotted any, have you?"  
  
"Yes, I have . . ."  
  
"Huh?" Misato sounded generally confused by his response.  
  
"I, um, saw a hawk flying around earlier before you came."  
  
"Shinji, that's impossible." Shinji looked at the young major in confusion. "The Geofront doesn't have any wildlife inside. Not even insects. There's no way a hawk can even get in here, let alone survive."  
  
"Well, I'm pretty sure I saw one . . ."  
  
Misato shrugged. "I doesn't matter, I guess. But I need you to come with me. I have to get some more paperwork and find you a place to stay here in Tokyo-3."  
  
" . . . Alright." Misato stood up, and offered a hand to the boy.  
  
~0~  
  
Shinji was right in guessing most of the facilities were underground. Save for the hospital, a few other Administrative buildings and security stations, everything was underneath the Geofront's man-made fields.  
  
Shinji walked behind Misato, making sure he didn't loose her in the massive complex. This time, she seemed to know where she was going, but he held back any comments, not wanting to upset the major. They came to a set of elevators, and Misato indicated she was going down.  
  
As the elevators opened, Shinji gasped in shock as Gendo Ikari stood behind the doors. Gendo stared down at his son, not showing any sign of emotion.  
  
Shinji turned away from the imposing figure of his father, and waited for the doors to close and take the commander wherever it was that he was going.  
  
Misato watched the boy in earnest, trying to figure out what was going on in the young boy's mind as he stood there watching the elevator's floor indicator drop down, showing the car descending into the lowest levels of the complex.  
  
She turned away from the boy and summoned another elevator.  
  
~0~  
  
"So you don't want to live with your father?"  
  
Shinji didn't look at Misato, but nodded his head.  
  
Misato sighed, and pulled up the register for housing inside the Geofront. Both Gendo and Shinji had requested that they live separately, and considering the relationship between them, or lack thereof, it didn't really surprise her. Unfortunately, that led to a problem in her eyes.  
  
Shinji didn't have any income. He had been living with distant relatives and teachers before coming to Tokyo-3, and he was still in school. There was no way he could afford any sort of decent apartment. Therefore, he would probably either end up in an old run-down apartment left over from when Tokyo-3 was being built, like Rei was, or one of the small, drab rooms that inhabited the Geofront.  
  
And either way he would be alone, cut off from the world.  
  
"You know that you'll probably end up alone, right?"  
  
Shinji shrugged. "That's alright. I'm alone anyways. I don't really care . . ."  
  
Misato saw the sad look in the young man's eyes, and decided to do something rash. She quickly pulled up a request from her computer, filled it out in record time, and printed it out. Misato ran out of the office to get approval for it, leaving Shinji watching her in confusion.  
  
She returned about fifteen minutes later, smiling, and told him what she did.  
  
~0~  
  
"Are you nuts, Misato?!?"  
  
"That's right, I'm taking Shinji to live with me at my place. It's already been approved, Risuko. This way he won't be living alone." Misato told her friend over her cell phone as she packed up for the day, ready to get Shinji to his new home.  
  
"Have you given any thought as to how to even take care of him? This isn't like back in college, Misato!"  
  
"Don't worry, it's not like I'm going to be making passes at him."  
  
"You had better not! You're completely shameless, you know! Do you have any idea . . ."  
  
Misato held the phone well away from her ear to avoid damage to her eardrums. "Geez, can't even take a joke . . ."  
  
"I heard that!"  
  
"Ritsuko, this is my decision and you can't make me change it. This is the right thing to do. I'll talk to you later. Bye."  
  
Misato hung up the phone and sighed. She didn't want sarcasm, she had hoped that her old friend would give her some support.  
  
"I guess she's just stressed out over Unit one." Misato thought out loud. Shinji tilted her head and looked at her curiously.  
  
"Come on, Shinji, we have to make a few stops before going home."  
  
'Home . . .?'  
  
~0~  
  
One could tell Ritsuko's mood and stress level but how fast she drank her coffee. Light stress days, like Magi maintenance, a cup of coffee would be forgotten and cold before she finished it. On a normal day, she would only sip it, and a cup lasted about fifteen minutes. On a busy day, she drank it like juice, and a cup lasted five minutes.  
  
Today, staring at the bandaged face of Unit one from the observation deck, she drank a cup in one sitting, meaning a cup lasted about ten seconds or less before she went to get another one.  
  
"Well, Ritsuko, what do you think?"  
  
The doctor turned to her favorite aid, Maya, whom was engrossed at her terminal. Glancing at it, she recognized the power readings and electromagnetic pulses coming from the Eva. Both were reading zero.  
  
"I can't say what yet, Maya. So far there haven't been any thermal or electromagnetic emissions from the Eva, and it's S2 organ that was absorbed from the Angel has been completely inactive, from what we can tell. It's being restrained by it's cage, and the Magi keep constant tabs on it. But I don't think we can really trust it."  
  
"Why do you say that?"  
  
"First off, this Eva has already ripped out of restraints before when it saved Shinji from that falling debris. Second, just because its inactive now doesn't mean it won't in the future. It's like a predator hiding. You can't tell it's there until it strikes."  
  
"There's just too many unknowns right now."  
  
"That's correct. All we can really do right now is repair it and replace the armor that was stripped off, then monitor it. Honestly, I don't think we can trust this thing right now. A single Eva, even with just five minutes of power has enough firepower to level entire cites. This Eva now has an unlimited amount of power. Plus, we don't have any idea what other abilities it might have gained when it absorbed the Third Angel. Having anyone pilot it right now is just too dangerous."  
  
"Isn't that why we're bringing in Unit 02 from Germany?"  
  
"Yeah. So far, Unit 02 has shown to be a lot more reliable than both Unit 00 and Unit 01."  
  
"How long until Unit 02 arrives?"  
  
"The air carriers for the Eva's aren't ready yet, so they're shipping it by sea. They should be prepping the Eva for transport now and gathering the escort fleet for it. They should be arriving in Japan a week from tomorrow."  
  
~0~  
  
" . . . I never expected this place to become a battleground. My husband says that the kids and me should leave, so that at least we'll be safe. This might be a fortress, but that's no guarantee for safety."  
  
Shinji listened to those words, spoken by someone he didn't know as he and Misato waited in a checkout line. His eyes narrowed as he thought about them. Those people were scarred because of something he did. He didn't like it.  
  
Misato seemed to notice his worry as she stood watching him.  
  
Later, Shinji sat in the small blue sports car. The damage to it from the Angel attack was still evident when you looked at the bumper and the roof. He sat quietly in his seat, partly because that's the way he was, and partly in shock at the enormous amount of instant food and beer stuffed in the sack that sat in his lap.  
  
Misato turned to the boy, smiling. "There's one more stop I want to make before we head home and have our little party."  
  
"Party?"  
  
"Yeah, a welcoming home party for my new roomie!"  
  
" . . .." Shinji sat in shock. He didn't know what to say.  
  
Misato didn't say anything else either. They continued in silence, Misato smiling and Shinji wondering what the heck he was getting into by moving in with this unpredictable woman.  
  
The minutes past, and Shinji realized that they were traveling a good distance outside the city. He was even more surprised when Misato turned off the road and headed down a gravel road leading towards the mountains. However, they didn't travel far before stopping.  
  
"Here, Shinji, this is what I wanted to show you." Misato exited the car, and Shinji followed her, having a little more difficulty getting out because of the heavy sack that sat in his lap.  
  
Checking out his surroundings, he noticed that Misato was leaning up against some railing. The sun was setting, giving the surrounding area a golden glow and outlining the Major against the sky. He walked up to the edge of the railing next to Misato.  
  
The view was amazing, had there been anything to see. Tokyo-3 was beneath them, and it looked flat and plain.  
  
'It looks desolate, lonely . . . like there's no one there . . .'  
  
"The city looks so empty . . ."  
  
Misato only watches her watch, not really paying attention to him. About two minutes pass before she speaks up. "It's time."  
  
Sirens going off in the distance surprise Shinji, and before he realizes it, the buildings that were pulled underground during the Angel attack rise up to their normal positions above the Geofront.  
  
"The buildings! They're . . . they're growing!"  
  
Misato smiled. "This city is a fortress a mankind, built to stand up against the Angels. This is the city that you saved. Without you, everyone here would have been killed."  
  
'I . . . I saved this city?' I sounded foreign to Shinji, something that he never really would have considered himself doing. 'But, if I saved it, why don't I remember it?'  
  
The buildings stopped rising, and Shinji could hear the large deadbolts locking into place, holding the buildings at their current height. As he stared out at the city, he decided that it didn't look desolate at all. It looked magnificent, and full of life in the setting sun.  
  
A hawk again came into Shinji's field of view, catching his attention. It flew towards the city and into the setting sun before he once again lost it.  
  
"C'mon Shinji, I want to get this party started!"  
  
Shinji shook out of his reverie and noticed Misato waiting for him near her car.  
  
"Sorry!" Shinji sprinted over to where the car was parked.  
  
~0~  
  
Holding the bag of what Misato called groceries, what anyone else would have called a bag of gunk frozen into easily microwavable packages, Shinji followed Misato into the elevator of the apartment complex. They rose up six floors, then exited and down the hallway.  
  
Misato pulled out some keys and unlocked the door with the nametag M. Katsuragi. "Your stuff already has been brought here. Those guys sure do things fast." Said Misato, pointing down to three boxes next to the door before entering the room. "I just moved in myself, but make yourself at home."  
  
Misato turned around to see Shinji standing just outside the door. "I, um, don't want to intrude . . ."  
  
"Shinji, this is your home now."  
  
" . . . ." Shinji stood quietly, but then took a step inside the door. "I'm . . . home."  
  
Misato smiled. "Welcome home."  
  
"Sorry, but it's a little messy."  
  
"This is. . . a little messy?!?" The counters and tables were covered in empty and half-full beer cans and liquor bottles. Trash bags covered the floor and came up to his knees in some places. What he could see of the floor made him guess that the color wasn't what the original floor color.  
  
"Oh, hey, would you please put the food in the fridge? Thanks!"  
  
Shinji wasn't sure how he was supposed to do that with all of this junk around. He waded through the garbage towards one of the two big white boxes in the room and opened the door to the appliance he was pretty sure was a fridge. But in this apartment, he couldn't be sure if that was it or what the gunk sticking to the bottom of his shoe was.  
  
The contents surprised the boy. "Ice . . . snacks . . . and fifty cans of beer? What kind of lifestyle does she lead? And what the heck am I getting myself into?"  
  
As Shinji filled the fridge with more snacks and beer, he looked up to the other white appliance that he was pretty sure was another fridge. "Hey, Misato?"  
  
"Yes, Shinji?"  
  
"What's in the other fridge?" 'Please let it be something edible . . .'  
  
"Oh, that, never mind that, he's probably still sleeping."  
  
"Sleeping?" 'Hoy boy.'  
  
Misato came out of her room, having changed from her Nerv uniform to a pair of very short shorts and tank top that didn't leave much to the imagination. Shinji blushed at the site of her.  
  
Misato grinned. "Well, we had better get the hard part done."  
  
"Hard part?" 'Don't think like that, Shinji . . .'  
  
Misato put a printout schedule on the table, indicated to Shinji to sit opposite of her, and held out her hand in a fist.  
  
Five minutes later . . .  
  
"Last one . . . paper, scissors, stone! Ha! Shinji for Saturday trash. That was a pretty even way to split up the chores, huh?"  
  
Shinji looked down at the job sheet. There were two meals on it, breakfast, dinner, trash, and cleaning for each day. It ended up with Shinji doing almost everything everyday. Right there and then he decided to get a lot better at paper, rock, scissors or else he could be in for a lot of unfair work in this apartment.  
  
"Well, now that's finished, let's eat!"  
  
Shinji was curious on what they were planning to eat until she pulled out some of the microwavable snacks out of the fridge, along with four cans of beer. 'She can't be serious . . .'  
  
Misato finished nuking the meals, and handed one to Shinji. "Let's eat!"  
  
"Yeah . . . let's eat . . ." Shinji stared down at his meal with a lot less enthusiasm than his new guardian, and hoped it wouldn't kill him to eat it.  
  
"I know it's all instant, but really, it's not that bad."  
  
"Yes, ma'am."  
  
"Yes, yes, yes . . . is that all you have to say?!?" Misato reached across the table, grabbing his head with her right hand and gave it a playful toss. "It's getting on my nerves! You're a man, so act like one!"  
  
"Y-Y-Yes Ma'am!" Shinji stuttered.  
  
Misato sat down, and gave a long sigh. "Well, I guess that's just the way you are." Misato grabbed one of the beers sitting on the table and gave it a long pull. "Yeeeaaaah! That's the stuff! Life just doesn't get any better than this!"  
  
Shinji found the floor to be very interesting, staring down at it to avoid Misato's outbursts.  
  
Misato smiled. "Hey, you don't you take a bath? Yeah, bathing clears the mind and soul."  
  
Shinji nodded, if only to get out of the awkward situation he was in. He quickly left the kitchen and headed into the changing room outside the bathroom. As he stripped he tried not to pay attention to the women's underwear hanging on a drying rack. He opened the door to be greeted by a penguin, wearing a towel and shaking water off its body.  
  
"AAAAAAAAAAHHHHHH!!" Shinji dashed out of the changing room and back into the kitchen to alert Misato of the intruding animal.  
  
"Misato! There's a P-P-P a P-P a Pen . . ."  
  
Shinji stopped as the animal calmly crossed in front of him, still wrapped in its towel, and proceed to the second fridge. It used one of its claws to hit the open button, then turned to look at the Third Child again before retiring into its bed within.  
  
"Oh, him? Don't worry; he's your other roommate. He's one of those new warm-water penguins." Misato picked up her beer and gave it a gulp. "Trying to show off to me, Shinji?"  
  
Shinji looked down and realized how much he was showing. He gasped, and covered up with his arms as he retreated into the privacy of the changing room.  
  
Misato just smiled. 'I guess I should be nicer to him, but he's just so fun to tease!'  
  
~0~  
  
Shinji sat in the bath, thinking about what was going on. Misato's word came to him. 'Bathing clears the mind and the soul!'  
  
'But bad memories always find me in the bath.' A flash of bad memory hit him. 'Father . . .'  
  
"Leave!"  
  
'Why am I here? Should I leave? What's keeping me here?'  
  
"This is the city you saved, Shinji. This is your home now."  
  
'But what did I do?'  
  
Images of Rei lying down in the hospital bed, and then of her trying to get up out of it to pilot but yelling in pain flashed in his mind. He could still remember the blood on his hand as he held her after being thrown from that bed. Her blood.  
  
'Is that why I stay? To keep others from feeling pain?'  
  
The only response his mind gave him was the image of a hawk, flying across the city into the sunlight.  
  
No more answers came to him, and he decided that he had stayed in the bath long enough.  
  
Shinji dressed himself in one of the uniforms he found in his closet. His stuff lay in boxes as he still hadn't bothered to unpack it. He did dig through it to get one precious item from the boxes. His SDAT lay now next to his pillow, playing the soft music he had come to love when his mind was troubled.  
  
A School Transfer application stood on his desk. Misato had already filled it out, probably. All he had to do was turn it in when he arrived to his new school in two days.  
  
"Another unfamiliar ceiling. Of course, there's no place in this city that's familiar."  
  
Shinji stared up at the ceiling, and once again memories came to him.  
  
And for some reason, the first memory that hit him was a roar. The Eva's roar.  
  
'Did Eva roar?' Shinji closed his eyes, and images played out before him. Eva unit 01, with him inside, smashed up against the building. Blood streamed from the split head. And the Eva jerked. The armor on its stomach exploded. The eye glowed blood red, and the mouth opened.  
  
'Eva did roar. . .'  
  
Unit one charged the Angel, and ripped through the AT field.  
  
'AT field? What is that? How do I know this?'  
  
The Eva pinned the helpless Angel down, and brought it's mouth down on it.  
  
Shinji felt sick. He didn't know why he couldn't remember this before, and now remember with such vivid detail. He remembered the blood, the ripping sounds of tearing Angel, even for reasons he could not explain, the taste of the Angel as it entered the Eva's mouth.  
  
It never occurred to him that these memories might have not been his.  
  
~0~  
  
"YAWN!" Misato stumbled out of her room, sleepy eyed and not really functioning all that well. Yesterday had been the day after the Angel attack, and the situation was hectic. There was just so much to do, like getting the city ready for more Angel attacks, prepping for the arrival of Unit 02 and its pilot, keeping tabs on Unit 01 and trying to get Unit 00 ready again for combat . . . it was just tiring.  
  
It was a good thing Shinji had moved in with her. He proved to be a great help. Already he had cleaned a good portion of the house, and even took care of her only chore yesterday because she had been so tired.  
  
She entered the kitchen, not surprised to see Shinji already there; stirring a pot that she guessed was Miso soup. Also, she saw that some other light breakfast items already ready for consumption. Then Misato suddenly remembered that it was her turn today to cook breakfast.  
  
"Oh, good morning Misato!"  
  
"Grumble, grumble. . ."  
  
Shinji sighed and tossed her one of her best stimulants. He learned fast that Misato wasn't an agreeable person in the morning until she's had at least one beer. He didn't want a repeat of yesterday morning, when he stood between her and the first beer of the day. His neck still wasn't feeling quite right after that incident.  
  
"YEE-HAW! Now that's the way to start your morning!"  
  
Shinji didn't say anything as he pulled down two clean bowls and poured some of his soup into both of them, and placed them on the table. Misato started on her bowl immediately as Shinji started to make some toast for himself and fish for Pen Pen, the warm water penguin.  
  
"So, Shinji, are you excited?"  
  
"About what?"  
  
"Your going to school today, right? Your first day, so are you excited?"  
  
"I don't know . . ."  
  
" . . . You certainly are strange."  
  
"Hmmm."  
  
Shinji finished his toast and put the dishes he used in the sink to be cleaned when he returned from school later on that day. Deciding he better get going, Shinji grabbed his bag from his room, along with the transfer application.  
  
"Go have fun, Shinji! You'll be home alone for a few hours after you get back, I have a lot to do at headquarters today. You have a key, right?"  
  
"Yes, Misato. Bye."  
  
"Bye Shinji. Don't be afraid!"  
  
~0~  
  
"I'm telling you, man, there had to have been at least a few casualties, and maybe even some fatalities with an explosion like that." The youth that spoke was small and wore glasses and freckles, a video camera by his side talking to another student.  
  
The other student shook his head. "The news said that no one was hurt, Kensuke."  
  
"Well, there's at least one casualty." A third boy walked in on the conversation, obvious muscled and athletic.  
  
"Hey, Touji. What do you mean by that?"  
  
"My sister's in the hospital. She's pretty bad, the doctors aren't sure she's going to make it. And to make it worse was it was from our own side! That damn giant robot of theirs knocked over some debris, and it fell on my sister! Argggh, that pilot is really dumb! How could he wreck his own city like that?"  
  
"Hey, speaking about the pilot, have you heard the rumors?"  
  
"Huh?"  
  
"The new kid. Over there." The freckled boy named Kensuke pointed to the silent Shinji Ikari, who sat a few desks in front of them. He had been listening to the conversation, but now that it was focused on him, he cowered in his seat.  
  
However, before they could do anything, Hikari Hokoto entered the room and shouted "Rise, bow, be seated!"  
  
Shinji had learned quickly to respect her. He had met her when he first came to class, as he needed to introduce himself to the class representative. He thought she was kind but a little strict.  
  
His laptop computer, colored red to match everyone else's, was opened to his note-taking program. He was surprised when an Instant Message dialogue popped up on his computer. Glancing around the room, he noticed two girls giggling and staring at him. They typed on their computer, and another IM appeared on his screen.  
  
It was a question. Are you the pilot of that robot? Y/N.  
  
Shinji thought for a moment. 'Why not?' He typed 'yes' on his screen and sent it.  
  
The entire class gasped. How they all knew at the same time when he only sent the IM to one person was beyond him. He found himself closed in around his desk, unable to escape. The teacher went on without noticing the entire class, save the track boy, camera man, and the class rep, were huddled around the flustered Shinji and not even pretending to be interested in his lecture.  
  
"That's so cool!"  
  
"What's it like?"  
  
"What's it called?"  
  
"Evangelion, but they all call it Eva . . ."  
  
"How did you get chosen? Was there some kind of test?"  
  
"What's its specialty weapon?"  
  
"I don't know about any . . ."  
  
"What is it like inside the cockpit?"  
  
The questions continued for over half an hour, until the school bell rung for lunch. The class of 2-A were largely teenagers, and like all teenagers, food came before anything else. So they disregarded the flustered and embarrassed Eva pilot and headed outside to eat their lunches.  
  
Shinji stood up after the class left and grabbed his own lunch, but a strong hand grabbed his color before he was halfway out the door.  
  
"Come here!" The boy who had been complaining about his sister dragged Shinji mercilessly down the hall and outside, the freckled boy with the video camera following at a small distance. Touji dragged poor Shinji to a secluded area of the school and pulled Shinji straight up to his face. "My sister is in the hospital because of you!!"  
  
Kensuke stayed at a distance, but did say, "Sorry about this, he's pretty upset his sister was hurt and I can't stop him."  
  
The blow didn't come as much as a surprise as Shinji thought it would, but it didn't hurt any less. He sat in the dirt, wiping blood off his mouth. Touji scowled, and turned to leave the boy in the dirt.  
  
"I didn't have a choice - they made me pilot the stupid thing!"  
  
Touji stopped and turned around, stormed over to Shinji and picked him up again. He scrowled at the young boy, then threw him back down to the ground not so lightly.  
  
Shinji watched the jock walk off in a huff, but the camera boy stayed behind, and offered his hand.  
  
"Sorry about my friend there. He gets a little emotional this time of month. Plus, his brain isn't among the first things he thinks with."  
  
"It's alright, I probably deserved it for what I did to his sister." Shinji accepted the boy's hand and pulled himself up. "You're Kenseke Aida, right?"  
  
"Yep, that's me. Military nut and camera man extoridanarie! And your Shinji Ikari, right?"  
  
"Right. Pleased to meet you."  
  
"Likewise. Hey, tell me about the Evangelion or whatever you called those things. They looked pretty awesome!"  
  
'It seems that everyone wants to know me just because I pilot Evangelion.' Thought Shinji as he listened to Kensuke's ramblings. 'Eva and nothing else. I don't think that's right.'  
  
"Man, this is so awesome! To talk to a real pilot! . . ."  
  
But Shinji smiled. 'But it's better than being alone.'  
  
~0~  
  
Shinji walked out of school alone, and started down the path towards the apartment. He was surprised to see his new friend Kensuke, along with Touji, walking down the path not to far in front of him. Shinji didn't know what to do, and apparently Kensuke and Touji hadn't seen him yet. However, he was close enough to listen in the their conversation.  
  
"Listen, man, we should head to the arcade. There are some girls hanging around there, and I want to try to get a picture of them . . . maybe with me in it too, you know?"  
  
"Sorry, Ken, but I'm just not in the mood. I just want to go visit her, ok? Be there for support, you know. . ."  
  
"Yeah, I hear ya. But on that subject, about that pilot, the new guy, I've been talking to him . . ."  
  
"You talked to that ego-bound son of a . . ."  
  
Shinji balked. He wasn't like that at all, was he?  
  
"Touji, you're jumping to conclusions again. He's really a nice guy. A little weird, and a little out there, but he does feel almost as bad as you do about your sister. You're just assuming that because he's an Eva pilot that he's arrogant. People make that assumption about you because you're a pitcher for our baseball team, right?"  
  
"Say what you want."  
  
Kensuke sighed. "There's just no convincing you sometimes, is there?"  
  
"Listen, Ken, I have to get on this train if I want to see her in time before visiting hours end. You coming with me?"  
  
"Nah, I'll give you two some time alone. Maybe tomorrow?"  
  
"Alright. Stay cool."  
  
"Always!" With that, the big jock turned down another street, headed apparently for a train depot. Kensuke stayed where he was, watching his friend continue on his walk. Shinji decided it would be OK for him to talk to Kensuke now that Touji had left.  
  
"He still hates me, huh?"  
  
Kensuke jumped. "Shinji! Geez, warn me or something! Don't sneak up on me like that!"  
  
"Sorry, I was sneaking, it's just that the apartment is this way and . . ."  
  
"Hey, it's cool."  
  
"I feel awful about his sister. It's all my fault . . ."  
  
"I thought you said it was an accident?"  
  
"It was, but it's still my fault . . ."  
  
"Hey, we're not going to do anything interesting standing here. Where did you say you lived?"  
  
"Down the street here about four blocks or so . . ."  
  
"That's not far from where me and Touji live, even the class rep. Listen, how about I walk you home? I want to see the Operations Director, eh? More military photos for the scrapbook, ya know?"  
  
Shinji paled. 'Please, Misato, don't embarrass me . . .'  
  
~0~  
  
Shinji and Kensuke entered through the door of the Katsuragi residence, and removed their shoes in respect.  
  
"I'm home! Not that anyone's here, of course. . ."  
  
"Shinji, is that you?" Misato's voice surprised him.  
  
"Misato? I thought you would be at Nerv. . ."  
  
"I just got back, and I'm exhausted."  
  
"Oh, um, I brought a friend with me . . ."  
  
Misato walked into the hallway, dressed in her nightclothes, which didn't leave much to the imagination. She smiled at the young Kensuke. "Nice to meet you!"  
  
Kensuke had a goofy smile plastered on his face when he saw the Major and how she was dressed, and promptly fell over backwards, landing hard and twitching.  
  
Shinji stared at the prone form of his new friend. "Misato, I think you killed him . . ." 


	3. God's Wings 0:3 Asuka and Simulators

____________________EVANGELION_________________  
  
________________GOD'S________WINGS_____________  
  
"Shinji! Hey Shinji! Wake up!" Someone was shaking him. Hard. He didn't like it. "Shinji, come on, I know it's Saturday, but I need you to wake up!"  
  
Groaning, Shinji tried to roll over away from the person trying to get him up, but instead caught a face full of sunlight, which sped up the journey to alertness. Giving up any chance at some more sleep, Shinji slowly stood up and turned to his roommate and guardian, Misato Katsuragi.  
  
"Misato? Why did you wake me up this early?"  
  
Misato smiled. "Why not, you're usually up by now."  
  
"I am, but you're not." Misato's face scrunched as Shinji continued. "Besides, it's Saturday."  
  
Misato stood up, her face again smiling. "I thought we could have a little fun." Shinji got worried real fast at her statement. "A little boat cruise, but we have to get moving if we want to make it."  
  
"Boat cruise?"  
  
"Yeah, the transports carrying Eva unit 02 have just left. The helicopter leaving from here to intercept them takes off in about an hour. You need to get up and ready to leave."  
  
Shinji stood, walked past Misato to his closet, and pulled out some of the school clothes that he usually wore in his daily activities. In fact, there wasn't much besides school uniforms in his closet.  
  
"Hey, Misato . . . why are we going?"  
  
Misato sat on his unmade bed and grinned. "Well, the official reason is to transport an umbilical cable for Unit 02 for use in an emergency and to have Headquarter Personnel on board. The commander actually gave the order for me to go, and suggested that I bring you along. The unofficial reason is to get out of town for a while, meet the Second Child, and have some fun!"  
  
" . . . It's just a cargo ship, right?"  
  
"No, silly. They've got a huge fleet of battleships, aircraft carriers, destroyers, cruisers, and submarines guarding the Eva."  
  
"Sounds something that Kensuke would like."  
  
"That's a great idea! Why don't we invite your friend along? I'm sure he'll enjoy this!"  
  
"Um, sure . . ."  
  
Misato looked at his worried face, confusing playing on her features. "What's wrong, Shinji? Are you worried that Kensuke will say no?"  
  
"No, it's just . . . that . . ." Shinji looked away from her in embarrassment. " . . . I've never been on a ship before."  
  
Misato smiled, but caught a look at Shinji's alarm clock and started. "And you won't get to now if we don't hurry! Get dressed; I'll call Kensuke for you. His number's on the fridge, right?"  
  
"Um, yeah." Misato walked out of the room, closing the door behind her to give Shinji some privacy to change. "Misato calling him to go look at military equipment. She just made his day . . ."  
  
~0~  
  
Shinji decided that the view was good, but lacking something. There was a tugging on his soul, like it was trying to tell the young man something. It made him feel like he was missing out something great, but he didn't know what and riding in this cargo helicopter would not satisfy him.  
  
Kensuke, however, looked like he was in heaven. His camcorder was always filming, taking in as much as he could. Shinji also knew that his pockets were full of extra storage discs and at least three batteries. In fact, Shinji noticed from time to time that he gave himself a pinch, to 'make sure this wasn't a dream' according to him.  
  
Misato, sitting in the copilot's seat, wore a bright smile and looked like she anticipated winning the lottery. Shinji knew that wasn't true, as she had bought at least fourteen tickets for this week's drawing and didn't win a single yen.  
  
"Awe man! Look at that, Shinji! Below us!"  
  
Shinji and Misato looked down at what Kensuke as pointing at. There, below the clouds, was a HUGE fleet. Shinji couldn't count the number of ships below them, as they seemed to stretch across the water past where he could see.  
  
Shinji turned to the Major up front. "Misato, is this your little boat?"  
  
"Yep!"  
  
"That's the pride of the UN combined fleet, the super carrier 'Over the Rainbow'! It's a vintage model from just after the Second Impact!"  
  
Misato smirked. "Actually, I'm surprised that crusty old relic can still float!"  
  
"It's not so bad! Oh man! There's five . . . six . . . seven battleships and all kinds of destroyers and . . ."  
  
Kensuke rattled on, but all of this wasn't very important to young Shinji. They would be landing soon, so he decided to take in the view one last time before they sat down on the carrier's deck.  
  
He didn't notice the young figure of a girl watching the landing helicopter from an overhanging deck.  
  
Kensuke bounded out of the copter the microsecond the door opened, nearly knocking the guy who opened them down on his butt, and zoomed around the deck, taking in as much as he could while repeating how cool and awesome it was. Shinji stepped out next, stretching his muscles out from the long, turbulent ride. Misato was last, but misjudged the door's height and now was rubbing a large bruise on her head where she hit it.  
  
"Cool, cool, cool, cool, cool! Look at all those antenna and missiles and gun pads! It's enough to make you want to cry! Hey, Shinji, come over here!"  
  
Shinji was jerked to the side away from Misato as his friend dragged him to some nearby fighters, ready for duty.  
  
"You're going to love these hot mammas, Shinji! Check this out, this one is one of those old F-14 Tomcats!" Kensuke pointed to a rather large fighter that stood, strapped down to the deck. "These things were the first fighters to use the variable wing system. Oh, and that one's a F/A- 18! A Hornet!" Kensuke grabbed Shinji again and moved him again. "These things came out right before Third Impact! They're twice as fast and maneuverable, with firepower to match! The thrust capability on these things allows them to accelerate to near supersonic while completely vertical!"  
  
Shinji wasn't too interested in what Kensuke said. He had to admit the fighters on the deck looked sleek and impressive, but there was something about them he didn't like. Maybe it was because they looked just like any other fighter plane he had seen.  
  
Those thoughts were washed away when he looked past the rows of F/A-18s. Behind them was another fighter he had never seen before, and it was quite different from the other fighters.  
  
It was painted white, with yellow and black trimmings and gleamed in the sunlight. The plane was as large as the Tomcat, and under it's fuselage a dozen missiles hung, ready to be fired. But the most different aspect of this plane was that the ends of the wings were not wingtips, but turbine engines at least as large as the other two engines in the fighter's torso. There was also another vent for a fifth engine, but this one pointed to the plane's front instead of the back.  
  
Shinji didn't know what it was about this fighter that really made it different to him from all the others. He stood there, and all other sounds seemed to disappear as he looked and admired it.  
  
Then a hawk appeared on one of the rudder fins of the plane. Its wings were spread, blocking the sun and it screeched at Shinji. Then, it was gone as quickly as it came.  
  
Shinji stood there, fixed on the spot where he thought the hawk had been, and wondered if it had even really been there at all. He didn't notice that his name was being called until he felt a hand on his shoulder.  
  
Shinji jumped at the sudden pressure on his shoulder, surprised. "You just going to stand there all day?"  
  
Shinji turned to face the person, an apology on his lips, but it was sucked back into his mouth and down into his stomach when he saw who had spoken. In fact, he felt his feet turn to lead and a lump the size of a grapefruit in his throat.  
  
The girl stood in front of was beautiful enough to feel like you've been hit by lightning when you see her. Her eyes, a light blue, sparkled with pride and energy. Her soft face was matched with long, silky red hair, held into a simple design by two red neural interfaces Eva pilots wear. The yellow sundress she wore showed off shapely thighs and plenty of cleavage.  
  
The girl snapped her fingers in Shinji's face, and waved her hand in front of him to try and get a response from the startled boy, but none came. She sighed. "Great, he's deaf and dumb. Just what I needed. Humph."  
  
Misato walked up behind the girl, and glanced from her to Shinji and noticed how his mouth was working, but no sound was coming out.  
  
Misato poked Shinji in the shoulder a few times, but didn't get any response. She smiled up at the red head. "Asuka, I think you broke him."  
  
Asuka smirked. "I always have that effect on boys . . . although I think the prospect of meeting me would have been more interesting them some stupid plane." She stood out straight and proud, looking down at the gaping Shinji with an expecting eye.  
  
"Well . . . are you going to say something Third Child?"  
  
"I . . . I . . . I . . ."  
  
Asuka's eye twitched at Shinji's stuttering. To remedy the situation, she balled her hand into a fist and brought it down on the unfortunate boy's head.  
  
Bonk! "It's nice to meet you!" Shinji finally got out.  
  
"About time. No wonder they had to call me in, your so afraid you can't even talk to a gorgeous girl like me. How in the world could you stand up to an Angel?" Asuka glared down at the boy.  
  
Shinji blushed and decided that the carrier deck as a lot better to look at right now.  
  
"Figures. You're such a dork."  
  
Shinji groaned. Fortunately, Misato decided to intervene. "Alright you two, stop that. I have to go meet the captain, and I can't have you two wondering and arguing like children."  
  
Asuka turned her nose up at the idea. "I am not a kid anymore, Misato! You can tell by looking at me that I'm an adult!" Asuka turned to point her finger at Shinji's nose. "BUT don't think that's an invitation to stare at me all day or I'll leave you at the bottom of this ocean!"  
  
"Y . . . Yes, ma'am . . ."  
  
Asuka scowled at his response. "Ma'am!?! Do I look like an old lady to you, Third Child!?!" Asuka turned on her heels to follow the retreating Misato into the command tower.  
  
Shinji looked as if he had just broken a glass ornament. "S . . . sorry, Asuka." He then quickly followed after the red head so not to get separated from his friends.  
  
~0~  
  
The Admiral, Shinji decided, had a distinguished sense of sarcasm and irony or perhaps never seen what an Eva or Angel could do. Misato was to the point that she was sounding just like the monotone Ritsuko, and her right eye was beginning to twitch.  
  
Asuka looked proud that the entire UN Navy was guarding her, and was reluctant to had her over to Nerv until they arrived in port at New Yokosuko.  
  
Kensuke was acting like a fly, zooming from place to place, trying to get every bolt and dab of paint recorded in his camcorder. If Shinji was right, he was on his fifth disc and nearing his sixth.  
  
"Hey Purple Pussycat, long time no see!"  
  
Shinji and Asuka turned to see a man leaning in the door of the bridge. His shirt was not completely buttoned, and he needed to shave. However, his smile was alluring and bright.  
  
Asuka looked positively ecstatic to see him. "Kaji!" she cried in a high- pitched voice reserved by women for those special men that were often the subject of crushes.  
  
Had Shinji been paying attention, he would have noticed that all the color had drained from Misato's face, not to mention she looked like all the beer in Japan had just been dumped into the ocean.  
  
"Mr. Kaji, I must insist that you stop inviting yourself onto the bridge!" Apparently Misato's group had not been the only thing pestering the poor Admiral. Shinji could now begin to realize why the Admiral was so uptight.  
  
This Mr. Kaji that Asuka was now latched onto like a vice grip seemed to have a stressing effect on Misato as well as she quickly gathered up her papers and shooed everyone, including Kaji and Asuka, out of the bridge. She turned back to the Admiral, requested to be escorted to the port, and herded group out.  
  
Kaji smiled. "So, who's hungry? They serve some decent stuff at the cafeteria right now. . ."  
  
Misato grumbled a negative. But Asuka perked up, "I would love to!"  
  
Shinji's stomach chose that moment to growl, and Misato stood there, staring at him as if he had just betrayed her to the Angels. Shinji smiled nervously, and followed Kaji, Asuka and Kensuke down the stairs towards the cafeteria. Misato reluctantly followed the boy.  
  
The cafeteria was mostly empty, being nowhere near the usual eating times of the crew. Kaji lead them to a table made for six. Misato sat down first, and Kaji across from her. Asuka pushed Shinji out of her way to sit next to Kaji, and Kensuke pushed Shinji over to sit next to Misato. Shinji sighed and sat in the last available spot next to Asuka.  
  
Kaji grinned at the grumpy Major across from him. "So, do you have a boyfriend right now, Misato?"  
  
"I don't think that's any of your business anymore."  
  
"I'm hurt. Ouch." Kaji leaned back, acting like he was stabbed in the chest. He stopped for a minute, realizing another strategy he could use, and leaned forward to look at the young Ikari. "I hear you're living with Katsuragi."  
  
"Um, yeah, that's right . . ."  
  
"So tell me, is she still so . . . wild in bed?"  
  
Four heads in that room all had the same shocked expression on them. Mouth open, eyes wide, and hands thrown up in the air as if they just landed on a hot plate. Misato was the first to recover, slamming her hands down on the table so that the dishes awaiting food rattled.  
  
"Just what are you trying to imply but that?!?" Misato's face was right in Kaji's, and as red as Asuka's hair. Shinji had never seen her so furious.  
  
Kaji was unphased by Misato's threat, as he turned back to Shinji. "No, she hasn't changed at all, has she?" Misato turned to the boy, a look of fear and embarrassment on her face.  
  
Shinji scratched his head in embarrassment at being asked that sort of question. "I . . . guess so, but how do you know my name?"  
  
"Well, I ought to know you! The famous Third Child, who piloted an Evangelion in combat with no prior experience or training, and the only person to successfully defeat an Angel." Kaji continued smiling at the young man, and Asuka turned a venomous stare at Shinji.  
  
However, the stares or glares, in Asuka's case, were lost on Shinji as Kaji's statement put his mind a thousand miles away. 'Famous?' Flashes of the battle, what he could remember of it, played in his mind and tormented him.  
  
Shinji surprised everyone at the table when he promptly stood up without a word and walked out of the cafeteria, his head staring at the floor and hands in his pockets.  
  
"How could I be famous? All I did was stumble, fall, and get innocent people hurt." Shinji said to himself. He wasn't really paying attention to where he was going, and wasn't concerned about getting lost on this gigantic ship.  
  
However, Shinji found himself outside and once again right in front of the same fighter jet that had interested him earlier. He stopped and looked at it, wondering why he was so drawn to it.  
  
"Hey, kid, what are you doing?" The voice surprised Shinji and he started. He looked to the source of the sound to find a young man, probably a little younger than Kaji, but with black hair cut in a military haircut and trimmed mustache, and wearing a flight suit walk up to the boy.  
  
"I said, what are you doing here, kid?"  
  
"OH! Um, I was just, um, looking . . ." Shinji stammered, hoping that he didn't do anything that he wasn't supposed to do. He wondered if he should have stayed with the others.  
  
"That's OK, but who are you?"  
  
"Um, Shinji Ikari. I came here with Misato . . ."  
  
"Nerv?"  
  
"Um, yeah . . ."  
  
The man smiled. "It's alright. You'll probably be seeing a lot of these babies in the future." Shinji looked at him curiously. The man continued, "These new fighter jets are here to replace the VTOL assault carriers that were used in the last Angel attack. Those damn things didn't even but a dent in the Angel, so the UN decided to try these things. Of course, they're designed to support Evangelions, not replace them."  
  
"What's so special about them, if I can ask . . ."  
  
The man gave Shinji a reassuring smile. "Sure, but I'm being rude. I'm Lt. Mike Midcaf, call sign Viper."  
  
"Call sign?"  
  
Viper laughed. "Pilots call themselves by a name they made up, their call signs, over the radio so in case the radio transmissions are intercepted the enemy won't really know who's talking. Kind of like a nickname, and it's been a tradition for a lot longer then I've been around."  
  
Shinji nodded in understanding. He never was given a nickname in his life, but that doesn't mean he didn't know what it was.  
  
Viper continued on. "This piece of art is the F/A-27 Sky Hawk." Shinji looked up at the Lieutenant in surprise. The hawk he had been seeing, and now this jet shared the same name? It had to be a coincidence.  
  
"You can see the extra thrusters on the wings. They allow the Sky Hawk to accelerate twice as fast as any other aircraft, and maintain speed for longer periods of time, while it's single forward thruster can be used as a braking thruster and makes the fighter VTOL capable. It's cockpit uses voice-commands along it the usual computer interface, and a targeting system that's revolutionary. But the best feature is the modular weapons system."  
  
"Modular?"  
  
"Changeable. It can be equipped with AmRam Missiles and Sidewinders like normal fighters, but the Sky Hawk can also be equipped with a thruster package to allow it to achieve escape velocity and reach space, or an Agni- class cannon similar to the one's used for Evangelions."  
  
Viper leads him away from the fighter Shinji was staring at and pointed to another Sky Hawk. This one was just like the first, expect that this one had a large cannon nearly as long as the fighter itself attached under the wing, and a large block attached to it's right wing thruster.  
  
"This, Shinji, is the Launcher Hawk. It carries only two AmRams, but the Agni Cannon is powerful enough to punch through a battleship."  
  
"What that on the thruster?" Shinji said, pointing to the large, unwieldy- looking block of machinery opposite the cannon.  
  
"A generator. It acts like a counter weight for the Agni cannon itself, since they couldn't attach it under the belly of the craft, and helps power the cannon. The cannon won't have a lot of punch using just the power provided by the engines."  
  
"So you've actually fired this thing before?"  
  
Viper smiled. "No, just in simulators. We've actually only taken the Sky Hawk into the air. The Launcher Hawk is going to be tested in a few hours, through. If you're sticking around, you can come to the deck at 1400 hours to watch it."  
  
"Fourteen hundred, that's two o'clock, right?"  
  
Viper nodded. "Yep."  
  
"Shinji Ikari!" Both men cringed at the sound of the stern voice. Shinji turned to see Misato storming up to him, followed by Kensuke who was still taping everything, and Kaji with Asuka latched onto his arm. Misato's face looked like a cross of the commander's expression and Godzilla's.  
  
"Where have you been, young man, taking off like that and worrying the heck out of me. Do you know what did of trouble you could have been in by wondering away like that?!?"  
  
Viper decided to intervene. He saluted the woman and asked, "Are you Major Misato Katsuragi?"  
  
Misato glared at Viper. "That's right, who are you and what were you doing with my Shinji?"  
  
"My name's Midcaf, call sign Viper and I was just showing this wonderful young man the new F/A-27, ma'am. In fact, I was just going to ask him if he wanted to see the simulators my squadron uses for practice."  
  
Misato glared at the young man, but Kensuke's ears perked up at the offer. He grabbed the Major's sleeve and tugged on it. "Please, Misato, I would love to see one of those! Maybe I could even try it out! Please, pretty please."  
  
Asuka watched the exchange between Kensuke and Misato. She didn't really care, but looking at Shinji, she got an idea. Something good to impress Kaji and make Shinji look bad. A grin came to her face and she let go of Kaji, who didn't notice her as he stared at Misato, and Asuka walked up to Misato.  
  
"Misato, we don't we?" She looked at Shinji. "We've got some time to kill before arriving at port." Her use of the word kill frightened Shinji's very core.  
  
Misato looked from Asuka and Kensuke, and sighed in defeat. "Sure, why not . . . lead the way, Lieutenant."  
  
"Certainly, ma'am."  
  
Misato's eye twitched as she was once again addressed as 'ma'am'.  
  
~0~  
  
The simulator wasn't what Shinji was expecting, although he wasn't sure exactly what to expect. Four of them stood in a line down a large corridor. Each one was at least at large as his room, and shaped like a dome with a seat that could slid up into the simulator's cockpit in the back. All four were connected to control stations by large wires that crisscrossed across the ground.  
  
Viper lead them into the room, but first stopped to check some papers that here hanging near the control station and nodded. "Well, it doesn't look like anyone's signed up to use the simulators for a few hours. However, if one of the pilots comes in he gets priority." Shinji nodded, Kensuke head bobbed up and down numerous times, and Asuka just scowled.  
  
Viper nodded. "Four of you can use the simulators at once. I assume you three want to use them . . . so we have one extra. Do one of you . . . ?" Viper glanced at Misato and Kaji, the former trying to ignore the advances of the latter.  
  
Asuka grabbed Kaji's hand and raised it for him. "Kaji will! I would love to blow him out of the sky!"  
  
Everyone in the room sweat dropped at the girl's enthusiasm. Viper laughed, and led Shinji, Kensuke, Asuka, and the resigned Kaji to the simulator's seats. Once there, he stood over Shinji but talked to all four of them.  
  
"Alright, you need to strap on your helmets and make sure that they are on securely or else the targeting computer won't be able to target correctly. Once you do that, use the level on the right side of the seat to make the seat move forward until you're comfortable."  
  
It took Shinji a moment to get his helmet on correctly, but sliding his seat was easy. He did, however, have to raise it a little to accommodate for his lack of height and extend the petals at his feet so he could reach them. The cockpit was dark, with the only light coming from a small bulb behind the boy.  
  
Viper's voice sounded next to his ear, coming through speakers in his helmet. "Alright, I assume that you know the basics on the stick and rudder petals." Yeahs greeted him over the COM, confirming the assumption. "Ok. Now, on your left are the thruster controls. Hold the handles with your left hand, and the stick with the right. There are two, one for each side of the aircraft, although you can turn the wing thrusters off with the red button behind them. The smaller lever controls the forward thruster. Move it in synch with the two main thrusters to perform a Vertical Takeoff. Now, give me a moment, I'm starting the sim."  
  
The light behind Shinji went out, and the cockpit's gauges lit up. They're seemed to be a lot, and it made Shinji nervous. How was he going to handle all of this?  
  
However, those thoughts were driven when the dark area outside the cockpit turned into a view reminiscent of the aircraft carrier's flight deck. In fact, looking around, he could hardly tell the difference.  
  
Whistles came across the waves again, but he heard Kaji telling Viper how realistic it was.  
  
"Alright, now that's done, you can go ahead and try a vertical takeoff. They're a lot easier than a regular takeoff on a carrier."  
  
Shinji grew nervous. He was already going to take off? That seemed a little too hasty for him; he didn't know this stuff!  
  
Off in the distance, he thought he heard an explosion and a cry from Kensuke was heard on the radio. "Alright, it looks like Kensuke didn't make it. You have to keep the levers even with each other, or your thrusters will be mismatched and you'll crash. Also, that you're wing thrusters aren't on until you get off the ground. Hold on, Ken, you'll have to give me a moment to reset your fighter."  
  
Asuka's laughter came over the com. "Hey, camera boy, you suck. I had no problems."  
  
'Asuka's already up? Well, all right . . .' Shinji sighed and gripped the thruster handles nervously. The red button was glowing, indicating that the wing thrusters were off, so Shinji moved the three handles slowly forward. He felt the simulator shake some as the ecstatic engines revved, filling his ears with a whining noise.  
  
It was funny, but he kind of liked the feeling of the plane vibrating underneath him.  
  
Then he noticed that he was a little higher than he was a moment ago, and Shinji was filled with a sense of achievement. However, he didn't know what to do next.  
  
Viper came to his rescue. "Ok, everyone's up. Now, turn on the wing thrusters and slowly pull back the lever for the forward thruster. Once you reach a speed of sixty knots, your forward thruster should be at zero power."  
  
Shinji frowned. "How do you tell your speed?"  
  
"Stupid, just look at your altimeter!" Shinji grimaced, because of the force in Asuka's voice and the fact he had no idea what an altimeter looked like.  
  
"Shinji, just look at the Head's Up Display in front of you. Your speed is indicated in the lower left. Altitude on the left, weapon status on the upper left, and thruster output on the right."  
  
"Ok."  
  
Shinji pulled back on the forward thruster, and he could feel the craft moving forward.  
  
Kaji's voice came over the com. "How do you simulate the G-forces in this?"  
  
"The simulator tilts, allowing gravity to push on the body. It's just like those simulated roller coaster rides."  
  
Shinji noticed that his speed was nearing sixty knots, so he pulled backed on the forward thruster and pushed in the other levers hard. He was suddenly knocked back as the jet gained speed. In fact, he could feel blood leaving his head.  
  
Shinji grimaced and pulled back on the throttle. He hadn't expected that.  
  
"Alright, you guys. At this rate, you'll meet each other in about five minutes. I'll use that time to tell you how the weapons work. The simulated planes are equipped with four long-range AmRam missiles, and four faster, more maneuverable but short range Sidewinders, plus a four-barrel machine gun. You can see the display on the top right. You'll see a switch on the right side of the stick. You use it to switch between the weapons."  
  
"Next, the targeting system. The helmet is important because it is linked to the fighter's computer. Three micro lasers on it track your right eye's movement. It will target anything you look at. Also, you can verbally tell the computer what is friend and foe. Just look at the other fighter and say 'target' for a hostile, 'friendly' for a comrade. The radar is displayed by the two displays above your HUD. The right for things behind you, and left for targets in front of you. In fact, you should see three red blips on them right now. Those are your friends' fighters. Plus, the brighter they are, the closer they are. Red for enemy aircraft, orange for enemy ground unit, yellow for missile, blue for friendly aircraft, green for friendly ground unit."  
  
"Now, finally, defensive systems. The F/A-27s are equipped with both chaff and flares, along with ECM jammers. You can release the chaff and flares but hitting the appropriate switch on your right, or by verbally saying 'chaff' or 'flare'. However, keep in mind that they will only fool infrared missiles, or the Sidewinders. The radar guided AmRam can only be fooled by the ECM. It works automatically, but rarely fools the missile. Therefore, if an AmRam is fired at you, you're basically screwed."  
  
He heard Asuka groan. "Well, that's nice to know . . ."  
  
"Alright, I think that covers everything. You should meet each other about . . ."  
  
A bright flare caught Shinji's attention. It was to his left, and contrasted greatly with the blue sky.  
  
"Er, now, I guess. Sorry about that, Kensuke. Nice shot, Mr. Kaji."  
  
Shinji panicked and checked the radar. One fighter off to his right, and one . . . Shinji found out the other fighter's location quickly when his missile lock warning came on.  
  
"Flare! Flare!" Shinji rolled his fighter and dropped altitude. He felt the shockwave as the missile exploded, and realized that it didn't hit him. It must have hit a flare.  
  
"Looks like you got lucky, Third Child. You won't get so lucky again!"  
  
Shinji grimaced. Just what he needed, a scorned redhead with a lot of missiles behind him. This just wasn't his simulator.  
  
Flashes of machine gun fire caught his attention. Fortunately, they were off to starboard, and he rolled to the left to avoid them. Asuka's fighter roared past him, pulled up to gain altitude and come around for another pass with her machine guns.  
  
This time he could feel the bullets pierce through him, and although everything seemed ok, he didn't want a repeat of the experience.  
  
"Come on, you coward! You're moving like a slug, Third Child! Give me a challenge, you idiot!"  
  
Shinji could feel more machine gun rounds pound into him, and Asuka's verbal attacks grinding into his skull. She roared past again, passing only a few feet between their fighters. The shockwave produced by Asuka's fighter pushed his own fighter into a roll and dive.  
  
Red warning lights flashed all around his cockpit as Shinji realized that he no longer had control of the plane. He desperately tried to stop the barreling fighter and pull up, but nothing seemed to work right. His altitude indicator was scrolling numbers down very quickly, and he could see the ocean approaching very quickly.  
  
"So much for the famous Third Child! Now, where are you Kaji?!?" Asuka said in a sing-song voice.  
  
Shinji was plastered to the seat from G forces, and his stick was unresponsive.  
  
'LEAVE!!' Father . . .  
  
'You're a boy, you know! Act like it!' Misato . . .  
  
'Idiot!' Asuka . . .  
  
"AAARRRGHHH!"  
  
Shinji felt fire in his stomach, grabbed the throttle of the falling aircraft and jammed it forward, and pulled the stick to his breastbone. The fighter leveled out, and the nose rose into the air. He could make out missile explosions as Kaji and Asuka duke it.  
  
He could make out one of the fighters. "Target."  
  
A red bracket appeared around the fighter. Shinji selected sidewinders, and fired the moment he got a good lock. Off in the corner of his mind that was still paying attention to the com waves he heard a cry of surprise from a male, but it didn't reach him.  
  
Flares from the fighter were successful in fooling the missile, but the pilot wasn't paying attention to where Shinji was maneuvering. As the enemy fighter came about, Shinji opened up with a perfect machine gun shot. His bullets pierced the fighter's fuselage and cockpit before exploding in flames.  
  
"Damn you Third Child, Kaji was mine! I'll kill you for good this time!"  
  
Shinji let loose an unintelligible yell, and swerved around to find the remaining fighter. He was surprised to see that it was already behind him and very close. His missile warning was already screaming she had a lock.  
  
Shinji pulled back on his throttle and hit the forward thruster, slowing his jet down considerably. Asuka streaked past him before she even realized he was slowing down.  
  
Shinji's HUD screamed a solid tone, and he let loose a missile. When Asuka barrel rolled to avoid, fired two more sidewinders at her maneuvering fighter.  
  
Asuka never saw them. The two missiles converged on her fighter at the same time, turning her into a large flaming ball before she could even scream out. The first missile wondered around until dropping in the ocean.  
  
~0~  
  
Three sweating guys and one sweating girl stood in front of the control station looking at Viper. He reviewed the data from the simulation and decided the best way to give it.  
  
"Alright, here's the final tally. Kensuke, you shot down Shinji zero times, Asuka zero times, and Kaji zero times. You were shot down by Shinji zero times, Asuka four times, and Kaji twice. Ouch." Kensuke moaned. He was the military genius here; he thought he would have at least gotten one kill. Now Asuka was laughing at him.  
  
"Next is Kaji. You stayed back a lot, and only shot down Asuka twice and Kensuke twice. You were shot down by Shinji twice."  
  
The unshaven man smiled. "I figured I'd leave the playing to the young ones."  
  
Asuka smiled deviously. "You mean you were too afraid to face me."  
  
Viper smiled. "Ok, let's see here. Asuka, you shot down Kensuke four times. Kind of picked on the weak ones, eh?" Kensuke balked at the man's statement and Asuka's eye narrowed. "Anyways, you were shot down by Kaji twice and Shinji three times. Not a good takeoff/landing ratio, you know."  
  
Asuka puffed out her chest. "Well, it was only a simulator. Besides, I'm a lot better at Evangelions. That's what I'm best suited for. These fighters are a thing of the past, and really . . ."  
  
Viper ignored the girl and looked to Shinji. "Shinji, very impressive. You shot down Kaji twice and Asuka three times. An instant ace if this were real life, and were never shot down. I have to wonder if what you said about never flying is really true. It seems you could fly one of these things right now if you wanted."  
  
Shinji meekly smiled. It just felt natural to him, even if he had never been in a plane before. He just listened to his instincts. Really, he couldn't have been that good.  
  
Asuka was glaring at him hard, and if looks could kill he would be dead on the spot.  
  
~0~  
  
Shinji decided he didn't like how the second child was giving him the cold shoulder and silent treatment. He didn't do anything besides beat her on a stupid simulator, so why was she doing it? She was certainly hard to figure out, and Shinji hated it when people were angry at him.  
  
Shinji stood out on the carrier's deck, looking at the wreck of the F/A-27 Launcher Hawk. He had been standing out on the deck during its test.  
  
The generator attached to the fighter's right wing had overloaded, exploding while the fighter had been setting down for a vertical landing. The end result was the entire wing was missing, the fighter's right side melted and the pilot down in sick bay.  
  
It scared Shinji as he looked at the fighter for reasons he didn't know why.  
  
It was getting late. He could see the sun beginning to set as the 'Over the Rainbow and one of the cargo ships pulled into port. The rest of the fleet waited, as there wasn't enough dock space to accommodate more ships aside from the flagship and the cargo vessel carrying Unit 02.  
  
Shinji tried to stay away from the angry Asuka as he, Asuka, Misato, Kensuke, and Kaji came down the boarding ramp unto the docks. They barely set foot on dry land before a Military jeep pulled up beside them.  
  
To their surprise, Ritsuko stepped out of the jeep and face Misato, a worried look on her face.  
  
"Major, we have a problem. The fourth Angel has been spotted and his headed for Tokyo-3."  
  
"WHAT?!? Why wasn't I informed immediately?"  
  
"Your cell phone is off." Misato grabbed her purse and pulled out her cellular phone, grimacing when she realized that the doctor had been right.  
  
"Anyways, Misato, the fourth Angel is now heading for Tokyo-3 by low altitude flying. It will be approaching the city from the north. I've brought orders from the commander to sortie Unit 02 and intercept the target."  
  
"Ritsuko, how in the hell is Asuka supposed to intercept it! There's hardly any power in the Eva right now!"  
  
"I've brought some emergency power batteries with me from headquarters, that will buy her an extra thirty minutes of operation time. We don't have a choice."  
  
"Again." Misato said with a scowl.  
  
"Yes. Asuka, get suited up. The batteries are being installed now, and should be ready by the time you get into your plug suit."  
  
Asuka looked like she had just won the lottery, and smiled with evil anticipation. "Yes Ma'am!" She took off back onto the carrier, and five minutes later was running back wearing a skin-tight plug suit. Ritsuko took her over to where her Eva was waiting for her.  
  
Shinji stood on the carrier's deck, looking over the Eva. He could barely make out the entry plug being inserted into the back of the biomechanical beast. He watched as it's eyes glowed, indicating it's activation.  
  
Strangle feelings stirred in Shinji as he watched the back of the red Eva takeoff at top speed to intercept the target. He gave a small smile as he thought 'I bet she picked the color herself.'  
  
But another thought found its way into his brain, and it stuck like maple syrup.  
  
He may never see her again. She's going off to risk her life, and he was doing nothing.  
  
He did nothing before. Now Touji's sister was in the hospital because of it. Because he was too scared of the Angel to do anything. He had been lucky to survive.  
  
'Is there anything that I can even do to help her?' He didn't have an Eva. He hadn't even seen Unit 01 ever since he exited the entry plug after the Third Angel. Nerv simply didn't trust an Eva that had eaten its opponent.  
  
Shinji turned around, looking rejected because, even through she may hate him, he didn't want to see her hurt. And there wasn't anything he could think of to help her.  
  
That is, until he looked up.  
  
There had been two Launcher Hawks aboard the 'Over the Rainbow'. The first was in pieces and melted. The second now stood directly in front of him. And it gave him a crazy idea.  
  
"It seems you could pilot one of these things right now, if you wanted." Viper's words rang in his mind. Fear and excitement ate away at Shinji as he thought about it.  
  
"I would probably be in more trouble than ever. Misato would have my head if I did this. Asuka, well, I don't know what she would think. But most everyone would be mad at me."  
  
More worry came across his mind. "An experienced pilot flew the first one, and look what happened. I'd be risking my own life foolishly. How can I expect to use it correctly if the other pilot couldn't?"  
  
"My sister's in the hospital because of you!"  
  
"But . . . If I could help save even just one person, wouldn't that be reason enough?"  
  
A silhouette of a hawk appeared across the sun, and Shinji made up his mind. Making sure none of the other crewmen saw him as he climbed up the ladder and grabbed the helmet that was sitting on the seat of the plane. He sat down, adjusted the seat forward and up, and extended the rudder petals as high as they could go.  
  
Shinji closed the canopy and strapped on the helmet, making sure it was secure on his head. He reached down to the switch to start the engines, but paused for a second. It was the moment of no return.  
  
'Misato is going to kill me.'  
  
He flipped the switch. 


	4. God's Wings 0:4 Desicions and Consequenc...

__________EVANGELION__________  
  
_______GOD'S_______WINGS_______  
  
~Shinji~  
  
Shinji flipped the switch.  
  
Around him, instruments illuminated and jumped from zero to the correct marks. The HUD lit up in front of him, indicating his speed, altitude, thruster output (all zero) and weapons status. The stick began to feel alive in his right hand. The whine of engines starting up filled the cockpit.  
  
Apparently those engines attracted some attention as he could see work crews shouting at him from the deck, but he couldn't hear their shouts over the whine of the engines. He decided to ignore them and concentrated on getting the fighter into the air.  
  
Shinji's left hand shook as he gripped the throttle control. The Launcher Hawk was ready for takeoff, but Shinji hesitated. 'Am I doing the right thing? I thought I knew . . . they'd all be angry with me. But . . .'  
  
Shinji let out the breath he realized he was holding, and completed his thought out loud. "If I can help out, shouldn't I do it?"  
  
Shinji pushed the controls forward and the Hawk lifted up into the air, slower than it did in the simulator. Shinji guessed that it was due to the added weight of the large Agni Cannon under his left wing. The jet levitated a few feet in the air, giving Shinji a good look at where Unit 02 had left to intercept the new Angel.  
  
Shinji angled his fighter over in the correct direction and turned on the extra thrusters and decreased the forward thruster's power. The jet began to move forward and picked up speed as he took off after the red Evangelion.  
  
"Delta two, Delta two come in. Response at once!" The voice over the radio sounded panicked. Shinji wondered what they were talking about.  
  
"Delta two, return to carrier immediately, you do not have authorization to leave! Return at once!" Shinji suddenly realized that the person on the radio was referring to him and the jet he took.  
  
Shinji cleared his throat, trying to swallow the lump that suddenly appeared there. "I need to help her out."  
  
"What the? Who is this?"  
  
"S . . . Shinji Ikari."  
  
"Look, whoever you are, you had better . . ."  
  
Shinji hit the switch marked radio, and the conversation ended. He decided he had more important things to worry about, like making sure he didn't plow straight into the ground.  
  
Or making sure the generator didn't explode on him like it did for the test pilot. Shinji quickly checked his weapon display. It showed the usual machine gun with five thousand rounds, Agni cannon, fuel tank, two sidewinders, and generator attached to the right wing. The status of the generator was off, and Shinji was determined to keep it that way.  
  
'The damn thing won't explode on me if I don't use it. I can't believe I'm doing this.'  
  
With that, Shinji pushed the throttle into afterburner and followed the red mecha's footprints. He grimaced as he was plastered to the back of the seat from the acceleration force. The G forces inside the simulator had only been simulated, and in real life they seemed three times worse.  
  
Bile rose in his throat as the blood rushed to his feet as the fighter accelerated and crushed Shinji into his seat. Shinji felt dizzy, and he lost peripheral vision to the tunnel effect. Taking in a breath took a lot of effort and he felt like he was going to lose consciousness. He griped the throttle hard and used every ounce of effort he had in him to pull it back to cruising speed. The herd of elephants sitting on his chest eased up, and Shinji forced himself to breath easily.  
  
'Note to self: don't do that again.' Shinji shook his head clear of the dizziness that lingered. He took a deep breath, and looked down to find the trail Unit 02 left behind it.  
  
Shinji used the rudder to move the aircraft to the right when he noticed he was moving away from the trail. He leveled off, and followed the trail past a few small mountains for a few minutes.  
  
Passing two small mountains, he suddenly caught sight of the battle between the Eva and Angel. The Angel, appearing as an orange blip on his radar, was shaped like a cobra with two glowing whips. Those whips were currently wrapped around Eva's wrists, keeping Asuka from moving her arms around.  
  
"Target." A red reticule appeared where Shinji was looking, and the Angel was outlined in red brackets. Shinji selected sidewinders, and his HUD glowed red almost immediately. He fired both of them at once, and they flew ahead of him into the glowing hexagons made by the Angel's AT field before exploding. They did, apparently, get the Angel's attention because it unwound one of its tentacles from Unit 02 and tried to whip Shinji as he flew past.  
  
Shinji screamed and rolled to the right as the whip flew near him. He tensed for the impact, but nothing changed. The angel had apparently missed its target.  
  
Eva unit 02's now free arm slammed into the body of the Angel, the impact heard even through the whine of Shinji's engines. In response to the attack, the Fourth Angel lashed out with its free whip, slicing the arm of the Evangelion off just above the elbow.  
  
Shinji winced; the pilot felt the pain of the Evangelion. He remembered when the Third Angel broke Eva 01's arm. He was in so much pain that he couldn't think, and now Asuka must be in even more pain. However, he didn't hear any screams or cries of anguish over the radio.  
  
"Asuka! Asuka, can he hear me?!?" Only silence greeted him.  
  
As the now one-armed Eva tried to pry its remaining arm out of the Angel's grasp, Shinji brought his fighter around and hit his forward thruster, making the fighter slow and hover a few hundred feet from the Angel, hoping he was well outside the range of its whip, and selected the Agni Cannon.  
  
Shinji center the targeting reticule at the base of the whip holding the Eva and pulled the trigger. The large situated under the left wing hummed for a split second before unleashing a large blast of crimson energy surrounded by a blue aura and even more crackling energy. The blast was on target, but dissipated as it failed to penetrate the Angel's AT field.  
  
Shinji stayed hovering, firing shot after shot into the Angel, trying to sever the whip and free Unit 02, but none of the blasts went past the AT field, and the beams coming from the cannon were getting weaker as Shinji ran out of power in the cannon.  
  
Finally, Shinji pulled the trigger but nothing happened. A battery read- out on his left MPD (multi-purpose display) showed no power left in the cannon. Without the generator, it had run out of power very quickly.  
  
Shinji winced. His machine gun was all he had left and it wasn't even going to give the Angel a needle-prick, and Asuka couldn't do anything as her Eva was still struggling to free itself from the Angel's grip. The Angel's free whip pulled back and slammed into Unit 02's chest, impaling the Eva.  
  
Again, he didn't hear Asuka scream over the radio but he knew that she had to be in pain. Shinji gritted his teeth, as he got an idea that he didn't really like. But right now it seemed he couldn't do anything else.  
  
Shinji closed his eyes and braced himself before flipping the switch to turn on the generator for the cannon. Two seconds passed, and when nothing happened to the young man, he dared to open his eyes. His MPD showed power to the cannon, and he wasn't a flaming ball of wreckage.  
  
'C'mon Shinji, that doesn't mean it won't explode. TAKE OUT THAT ANGEL BEFORE IT DOES!!'  
  
Shinji re-centered the targeting reticule on the Angel and fired. The beam now was a lot brighter and longer than before, impacting the Angel's AT field and fanning out around it.  
  
Shinji fired again, and now the Angel ducked down from its crouching position to dodge the blast. The blast impacted the mountain behind the Angel, the explosion obliterating about two acres worth of forest and wildlife.  
  
Shinji suppressed a low whistle when he saw the carnage the charged-up cannon caused.  
  
The Angel twisted on the ground before dropping the damaged Unit 02 and approaching where Shinji hovered, lashing up with both its whips. Shinji barely had time to hit the thrusters before the whips came up at him, missing him by what felt like inches. He accelerated hard, roaring past the Angel and high into the sky where he hoped the Angel wouldn't be able to reach him.  
  
Unit 02 stood where it was, holding its injured arm with it remaining good arm. Its wrist burned from where the Angel had grasped it. The Eva's head was following the fighter.  
  
"Asuka, can you hear me? Asuka, talk to me!" Silence still greeted him, but Shinji noticed a red light glowing on his control board. Then he remembered.  
  
His radio was still off.  
  
After turning his radio on, he realized the red-haired German wasn't just speaking to him, she was yelling at him with high volume. He considered turning his radio back off.  
  
" . . . smart-ass little bastard, talk to me!! Who the hell are you, I didn't ask for you to come!! Answer me, God damn it!"  
  
"Asuka, it's me, Shinji . . ."  
  
"What the hell are you doing here, you idiot?!?"  
  
"I . . . I wanted to help!"  
  
"You wanted to help?!? I don't need the help of a young kid like you! Now stop acting like a coward and get down here and give me a hand!"  
  
Shinji was dumbfounded. 'But didn't she just say that . . .'  
  
"Third Child! Get your butt down here!" The finality in Asuka's voice put his uncertainties aside and he brought the Launcher Hawk down to a hover next the Eva.  
  
The Angel stood still, watching the Eva with a reptilian stillness.  
  
Shinji watched the Angel. "Asuka, what are we going to do?"  
  
Asuka made a noise of disgust. "I'm going to beat it of course!"  
  
"How? You got just one arm, and my cannon can't get past the AT field. Not to mention the generator. . ."  
  
"Shut up and let me think, you idiot!  
  
Asuka interrupted him before he told her about his overheating generator. Shinji had to regather his courage to tell her, but her voice came back on before he could gather enough guts to speak out loud. "Here's the plan. You'll be the distraction. Use that fancy toy of yours to distract it while I move in and take its core. Besides, it seems to like you better."  
  
Shinji groaned. "You want me to distract that thing? How the hell am I supposed to do that?!?"  
  
Asuka's voice screamed over the com. "Well, you sound like a fly with your whining, so go be an annoying little fly! GET TO IT!"  
  
Shinji winced before hitting his thrusters and moved toward the still Angel. He let out a small cry as he opened up with the Agni, blasting the Angel's AT field over and over. The Angel slithered up to him, and popped up a few dozen meters from the nose of the approaching aircraft.  
  
"AAAAAAAAAHHHHHHH!!" screamed Shinji as he instinctively reacted, hitting both his rudder and forward thruster to push the fighter sideways. The whip lashed out, slicing the left wing's thruster clean off, stopping just short of where the cannon was mounted. Red lights and electronic alarms rang out through the cockpit, and smoke filled the small space quickly.  
  
Unit 02 barreled in on the distracted Angel, tackling it to the ground. The whips impaled the Eva once again and this time he heard Asuka's cry of pain. However, it didn't stop her.  
  
"You Bastard!" The remaining fist of Unit 02 pounded on the Angel's core. Cracks formed on the outside of the core with each hit until the fist ran straight through the core and out the back of the Angel. The Angel slumped down, and the glow disappeared from its whips.  
  
A second after the Angel stopped moving; Eva Unit 02 slumped down, supported only by its hands and the body of the dead Angel as the internal batteries of the Evangelion gave out.  
  
Shinji brought his fighter down next to the body of the Angel, hovering for a moment before putting it down as gently as he could. He felt the impact of the ground, and cut the thrusters and felt the fighter sink into the ground. Shinji let out the breath he hadn't realized he was holding, and opened his canopy to let out the smoke accumulated inside the cockpit.  
  
He reached down and flipped the starter switch to off, and the sound of turbines winding down filled his ears. He sat in the seat for a moment, listening to the sound but something was nagging at his mind, the feeling you get when you know you're forgetting something. Shinji ran a checklist in his mind, and it came to him along with a sense of fear - he had not turned off the dangerous generator. He scrambled to reach down and hit the power switch.  
  
Sparks flew around the switch to the generator, and Shinji turned pale. He didn't know what that meant. He glanced at the generator attached to his right wing, nearest the dead Angel. Its usual green color was fading, and he could see parts of it starting to glow red with heat. In fact, he could still hear its humming.  
  
Shinji frantically flipped the switch on and off, trying to get some sort of response from it, but the generator continued to whine and it was getting louder by the second.  
  
'I can't turn it off! I can't turn it off! Explode! Explode! It's going to Explode! Get out!' Shinji frantically tried take off the harness that was holding him to the seat, but movement caught his attention for a split second.  
  
'Asuka!' Shinji thought as he looked up towards the source of the movement. The red-head had already made her way out of the entry plug and was storming towards the fighter, oblivious to the fact it was going to explode any second.  
  
Shinji scrambled with the harness as it continued to hold him to the seat and at the same time wave off the female pilot from approaching. Failing at both tasks, he gave up the latter to work on the former. He tugged and pulled on the straps, but paused as realization hit him. He grasped the clasp at the base of the pilot's seat that allowed the pilot to tighten or loosen the harness to accommodate for his or her frame, and pulled.  
  
Because he was skinny, Shinji was now able to wiggle out of the loosened harness and free himself. One problem was taken care off, but two more remained. Asuka was now right next to the generator, which just then gave off a loud electric whine and a sudden shower of sparks.  
  
Asuka froze looking at the overloading generator with a surprised look on her face, her brain screaming to get away from the thing, but her feet weren't listening. Fortunately, Shinji had no such problems, and in less than a second crossed the distance between him and the girl.  
  
Shinji slammed into Asuka and tackled her to the ground. Asuka put up no resistance as Shinji fell on top or her, shielding her with his body.  
  
A loud band and pop was followed by the unmistakable sound of metal objects hitting other metal objects. Something hot impacted Shinji's right shoulder, but it wasn't very heavy and bounced off. Still, he cringed on top of Asuka, waiting for the commotion to die down.  
  
Now breathing hard, Shinji slowly opened his eyes to a blurred vision of red. For some reason he wasn't seeing correctly. He shook his head to clear it and the blur became the shoulder of Asuka's red plug suit. He glanced up to her face, which was about a foot from his own, making him recoil a little at the closeness.  
  
The glare coming from the redheaded pilot made Shinji start. She spoke first. "Will you get off?"  
  
It was then Shinji noticed that his left hand was pressed against something warm and soft. A quick glance at the hand in question showed it to be sitting right on her chest, right on top of her breast.  
  
Shinji both jumped up and rolled over to the side of the girl, trying to stammer out an apology but the words was getting caught up in his throat. He looked like a deer caught in the headlights, as he sat next to the fuming redhead, his body tense.  
  
Asuka continued to lay flat on the ground, but her glare never moved from the boy next to her and was shaking with rage. Her thoughts, however, were chaotic. Some were hostile to the boy, others mocking, shocked, or just blank. Her mind was too shocked from the experience to use her mouth, but her hand knew what to do.  
  
Slap!  
  
Shinji was stunned, and his check was now throbbing. Asuka still glared at him, as the slap wasn't near enough to calm her anger. She continued to glare at the trembling young boy, and finally made up her mind on what she should say to him.  
  
"What the hell are you doing here, Third Child!?!"  
  
"I . . . I . . ."  
  
"Spit it out, dumpkof!"  
  
"I . . . thought you might . . . need help . . . "  
  
Asuka scowled at his response, and closed the distance between the two of them. Her voice was at a deadly level. "I don't need your help. Why did you think you were going to help me?"  
  
"I . . . I . . ." For some reason, it was hard to think. His head was suddenly light headed, and his vision became blurred again. Asuka was speaking, or rather yelling, again, but he couldn't make out the words. Another shake of his head proved to make things worse this time instead of better.  
  
Shinji's head swam and he lost his senses. Then he knew nothing.  
  
~Shinji~  
  
White was the only to describe it. White all over, compared to the darkness he had just been it. Whoever designed this room must have decided to blind the people who wake up from slumber, as the contrast between the two colors was enough to blind anyone.  
  
Despite his blinking eyes, Shinji could still make out his surroundings. He especially recognized the ceiling. He had seen it a week ago.  
  
"I hate that ceiling."  
  
His words, despite the fact that they had been whispered, had a alerting affect on a certain purple-haired woman sitting next to Shinji's hospital bed.  
  
Misato sat up in the bed-side chair and smiled at him. "Glad to see that you're awake."  
  
"Misato . . . what happened?" Shinji turned his head to face the major, a little surprised at both her presence there and the genuine smile on her face.  
  
Misato frowned. "You blacked out. The G-Forces you felt in that jet pushed the blood from your head and upper body down to your feet. It's a wonder you didn't pass out right away, considering your brain didn't have any oxygen going to it."  
  
Shinji sighed. His head still felt funny, like he had been spinning very fast. But now at least he knew why now. He closed his eyes and covered them with his hand, and found that it helped keep the dizzy feeling to a minimum.  
  
"Shinji, what you did was very foolish and stupid" said Misato with a level voice.  
  
Shinji didn't move, and responded in a low voice. "I know."  
  
"You could be discharged, or even worse jailed."  
  
"I know."  
  
"All I want to know is why."  
  
Shinji peaked through his hand to look into Misato's eyes, but those brown eyes gave nothing away. "I just didn't want her to get hurt."  
  
Misato blinked in surprise. "You mean Asuka?"  
  
Shinji was silent for a moment, and then his voice sounded pained. "People were hurt the last time an Angel came here. The Angel hurt people . . . the Eva hurt people . . . I didn't . . . couldn't . . . let anyone else get hurt . . ."  
  
Misato sighed, and leaned back into the chair she had been in for the last few hours. "You aren't going to get in trouble. Your friend, that pilot Viper, took all the responsibility for you, so he gets the blame. Your hands are clear. And Asuka and Unit 02 are fine."  
  
Shinji closed his eyes again, trying to alleviate the dizziness that plagued him when he had his eyes open. He felt like a truck had hit him, judging by how his body felt glued to the bed.  
  
"How long have I been here?"  
  
"About twenty-four hours. You just needed a little rest. The doctors said you'd be fine."  
  
The sound of the door opening convinced Shinji to open his eyes again. Standing in the door was a glaring Asuka. If looks could kill, Shinji would have been far past what even the NERV hospital could repair. Shinji could probably guess why she was so angry . . . the whole falling incident popped right up in his head when he saw her.  
  
'She must still hate me, even if that incident was an accident.' However, Shinji could still remember how soft and warm . . . his face started to heat up. He covered his eyes again, this time hoping to hide any blush he had on his face from Asuka's view.  
  
Asuka's voice filled his head. "So, you're awake, Third Child."  
  
Shinji moaned. She sounded like she was announcing his death sentence, from the tone of her voice. He was afraid to open his eyes, and he forced himself to turn away from the source of the voice. He was also afraid that his head would explode from embarrassment.  
  
"Now, now, Asuka, you shouldn't get mad at your favorite plush toy."  
  
Shinji looked at the Major in confusion, having no idea what his guardian was talking about. Asuka, apparently knew, because her glare shifted from the bed-ridden boy to Misato.  
  
"I told you to shut up about that! It wasn't my fault! He was the one doing it! Argh! You haven't changed one little bit, Misato!" screamed Asuka, and promptly turned around, showing the other two her back.  
  
"And neither have you, Asuka. Listen, I have to check Shinji out but it might take awhile so why don't you just head home?"  
  
Asuka straightened up, and turned to glare at Shinji before leaving without a word.  
  
Shinji waited a moment to make sure the angry pilot of Unit 02 was some distance away from the room before turning to Misato with a raised eyebrow.  
  
"Plush toy? What are you talking about Misato?"  
  
Misato turned to the puzzled boy, and noted the confused look on his face. She blushed and waved a dismissive hand. "Don't ask about it, it's just a joke about Asuka and . . . er . . ."  
  
Shinji's curiosity was definitely quirked, as this 'joke' apparently upset Asuka a lot. "And what? What is it?"  
  
Misato winced. "I said don't ask, trust me, you don't want to know. For your own good."  
  
Shinji groaned.  
  
~0~  
  
It took over two hours for all the paperwork to be completed and finally allow Shinji to leave the hospital. The drive back to Misato's apartment was very quiet, mainly because Shinji was plain out of it. Despite being unconscious for over a whole day, Shinji was desperate for some real sleep.  
  
After exiting the Geofront, Shinji was surprised by two things. First, it was night. Second, Misato had yet to push her newly repaired sport car over eighty.  
  
They arrived at the apartment complex in less than fifteen minutes, but it was fourteen minutes and 59 seconds too long for Shinji. He desperately needed to get to sleep. He and Misato rode up the elevator to the correct floor and headed to the door, but Misato froze half-way to the door.  
  
"Er, Shinji, I forgot something in the car. I'll be right back, ok?"  
  
Shinji didn't respond, but Misato ran back to the elevator, entering it before it closed again and started to descend. Shinji turned back to the door and pulled out his ID card, opening the door with a swipe in the card reader.  
  
Boxes lined the hallway, and filled the living room. Shinji mused Misato must have had more stuff delivered from wherever she had lived last. Had he been more alert, he would have noticed most of them had been stamped 'From Germany', but in his near-asleep condition he barely made out the color of the boxes.  
  
Shinji walked through the kitchen and to the door that lead to his room. He opened it slowly, not having the energy to put more effort into it. The inside was real dark, without a light or even moonlight to add any illumination.  
  
Shinji didn't mind the lack of light. He knew where his bed was, even in the dark, and that's all that mattered. He pulled off his shirt and pants, leaving him in his sleeping attire - an undershirt and boxers. He headed to the bed, only an outline in the darkness.  
  
Shinji reached down to pull the covers aside and climb into bed, but instead his hand touched something soft, warm, and entirely not a bedcover. In fact, it felt alive, vaguely familiar, and now was moaning and he could hear breathing.  
  
Shinji froze has he felt the object, which he was now pretty sure was a person, begin to move and turn, and a soft click was heard as a bed-side lamp was turned on, shedding light on the person laying on the bed. The person had long, red hair, was very female, had blue eyes, and a confused but turning to anger look on her face.  
  
Shinji's thoughts occurred in this order:  
1.) Asuka?  
2.) Asuka!  
3.) Asuka's in my bed  
4.) Asuka's not wearing much  
5.) Asuka looks confused  
6.) Asuka looks angry  
7.) My hand is on her breast again  
8.) Oh crap  
  
Shinji stared at Asuka. Asuka stared at Shinji.  
  
Then they both screamed.  
  
Asuka jumped back away from the boy and pressed her back against the wall, holding the blanket around her protectively. "You idiot, what are you doing in here!?!"  
  
Shinji's mouth worked, trying to formulate an apology, but his higher brain functions were shut down from the surprise sight of Asuka and touching her breast again. In fact, he could only breath and he wasn't doing that too well, his breath coming in gasps.  
  
His silence further irritated the German girl, so she repeated herself in a higher voice. "Again, you perverted idiot, what are you doing in here trying to climb into my bed?!?"  
  
Click. Shinji's brain suddenly restored itself to normal. "What do you mean your bed?!?"  
  
Asuka jumped out of the bed and stood directly in front of Shinji. "My Bed! The place where I sleep, you idiot! What did you think I meant?!"  
  
Shinji scowled. "That's MY bed! I've slept in here every night for a week!"  
  
Fortunately, Misato was attracted to their screaming voices and chose that moment to show up. She rushed to the room to find the two in midst of the dispute, and recoiled at the sight of the teens. She took a deep breath, and prepared to avert world war three from starting in her apartment.  
  
"BE QUIET YOU TWO!"  
  
Both Shinji and Asuka jumped, neither realizing Misato had been standing in the doorway of the room. A moment of silence was once again broken by the prattling of the two teens, this time their frustrations aimed at the annoyed Misato, demanding explanations.  
  
"Misato! Explain to this dumpkof that I . . ."  
  
"Misato, why is Asuka . . ."  
  
"Tell him this is my room, and he should . . ."  
  
"What in the world is going . . ."  
  
Misato's eye twitched. "I SAID QUIET!!" The room was once again silent, Shinji and Asuka still and waiting for explanations.  
  
"Listen you two; I think I need to explain to you what's going on. Meet me in the kitchen."  
  
Misato turned to leave, but stopped after taking just one step. She turned back to them, the annoyed look on her face now replaced with a smirk.  
  
"And you two should put on something more appropriate."  
  
Shinji and Asuka both blinked in surprised then realized that they were both in their sleeping clothes. A gasp came from both of them, and turned away from the other, blushes on their faces. Asuka turned back to Shinji and glared.  
  
Shinji was looking at the floor, trying to hide his embarrassment at his current state of dress in front of Asuka. However, a sudden push from the girl in question surprised Shinji, who found himself outside the room and in the hallway, looking at a closed door.  
  
"Asuka! My clothes are still in there!"  
  
"Idiot!" There was some shuffling noises, then the door opened and Shinji's clothes were thrown out the door and onto his face before the door closed again. A muffled "Thank you" came through Shinji's pants, which were hanging on his head, before the boy turned around and walked into the next room - the broom closet.  
  
Finding the closet strangely empty, Shinji used the time to put on his clothes that he had removed. Once finished, he walked out of the closet hoping to get to the kitchen before Asuka came out of the room she was in. Luck was not with him, as the moment he stepped out Asuka stepped out of the room.  
  
Asuka was enraged to the point were she could not form words to throw at the young Ikari. She was obviously trying because her mouth was working, but she opted to turn away from the boy with her nose in the air and headed to the kitchen where Misato awaited them.  
  
Shinji bowed his head and followed after her, and sat on the floor in front of the table as far away from the girl as he could. Asuka sat across from the boy, and the glare she was giving him would have scared most angels into going back to wherever the came from.  
  
Misato walked up to the table, a concerned look on her face. But that wasn't what scared Shinji the most. What scared Shinji was the fact that Misato was carrying a food tray of some bread roll things, which she set on the table in front of the two teens.  
  
Misato set the tray down on the table as an offering, but neither of the two took one, Asuka, because she was too upset, and Shinji because he had already had a taste of what Misato called cooking. Misato, however, didn't seem to notice the pilots reluctance.  
  
"All right, you two, I guess you want an explanation." Receiving angry glances by both the children, Misato continued. "I decided to take both of you in."  
  
"WHAT!?!" Asuka slammed her hands down on the table and rose to face Misato. "WHY the HELL did you decide THAT?!?"  
  
"Where else would you go, Asuka? A hotel?"  
  
"Well, I, er, um . . . Kaji! I could go live with Kaji!" Asuka claimed, with an almost pleading voice and a hoping look in her eyes.  
  
Misato scrowled at the name of her former lover. "Kaji's leaving Tokyo-3 tomorrow." 'And hopefully forever . . .' she added silently.  
  
Asuka sank in her chair for a brief moment, but rose up to point at the silent boy across from her. "THEN why the hell is Shinji here? I shouldn't have to live with him! Why does he live with his FATHER!?!"  
  
The question was like a slap on the face to Shinji. He tensed as unwanted memories were suddenly brought to light, like three years ago when his father abandoned him.  
  
"Asuka, Shinji doesn't, um . . ."  
  
Misato looked at Shinji to try and gage his reaction to the question, but his face was a blank. He didn't look at either her or Asuka, but did turn around and walk off without a word. He stopped at the door to his old room, his hand halfway into the action of opening the door. He froze, and then muttered a curse underneath his breath before walking back through the kitchen and leaving the apartment.  
  
Shinji stood outside the door, leaning up against the railing and looking down at the ground. Because it was night, he could not see the ground. It looked more like staring down into a bottomless pit. Although, in his mind, all he saw was his father, glaring down at him through those shades of his . . .  
  
'I hate those shades. I don't think I've ever seen him without them . . .'  
  
Shinji continued to stare down over the rail for a few minutes. Surprisingly, there wasn't any noise coming from the apartment behind him. He would have bet Asuka would continue arguing with Misato and belittling the boy whom she found she was supposed to be living with, even after he left. But the hall was quiet.  
  
The hall was getting too quiet. Normally, he would listen to his SDAT when it was so silent, to avoid the memories that plague him when he had nothing to do or listen to. However, it was hidden somewhere with the rest of his stuff in the apartment, and right now he didn't want to go back in there to fish around for it. He didn't want to bother Misato or receive another lashing from the red-haired roommate. Therefore, he opted to just leave the apartment complex and find something to do, or maybe sleep - he was still very tired.  
  
He wasn't aware of just how long he walked in the dark, aimlessly wondering around the city and riding random streetcars. He lost track of where he was, but he didn't really care. He just wanted to be alone with his thoughts. Thoughts that he would rather run away from, but without his SDAT they came back to torment him. But now they included more recent nightmares as well.  
  
"LEAVE!" His father, turning his back on him three years earlier, in front of his mother's grave . . .  
  
Shinji looked up to see a café sign, its lights out and closed down being so late in the day.  
  
"My little sister was hurt because of you!" Touji, beating the boy in the school yard. . .  
  
Shinji looked up to see a major boulevard, but without traffic it seemed like a ghost town.  
  
"It's gone berserk!" Unit 01, with him inside, tearing the third Angel apart with its mouth and ingesting the limbs . . .  
  
Shinji looked up to see himself in front of a broken-down apartment complex. It was dirty, old, and lacking in just about anything that was ultilartian.  
  
"Pilot Ikari?"  
  
Shinji tensed at the monotonous voice. He spun around to face the speaker, and was surprised to see the blue-haired pilot he had seen when he first arrived. Her arm and right eye were still covered in bandages, but now see didn't seem to be in any pain, unlike in their first encounter. Now the pilots stood there, staring at each other.  
  
Shinji was dumbfounded. This was the first time that Rei had spoken to him directly.  
  
"W . . . W . . . Ayanami, um . . . What are you . . . you doing here?"  
  
"I live here."  
  
"Live here?" Shinji looked back at the dingy complex, taken by surprised. He had thought the place was under construction or ready for demolition, not ready to be lived in by even the most unfortunate, or at least people as important as Evangelion pilots.  
  
Rei was silent, but after deciding that she had nothing of importance to say or do with the fellow pilot, she walked past him and towards her apartment.  
  
"Um, Ayanami, do you, er, need help? With your arm?"  
  
"I do not require assistance."  
  
Silence echoed between the two for a few minutes before Shinji spoke up again.  
  
"Um, Ayanami?"  
  
Rei didn't say anything, but the look on her face said she was listening.  
  
"Why . . . why do you pilot the Evangelion? Even if you get hurt?"  
  
Rei was silent for a moment, but her expression said that she was examining Shinji, not formulating an answer to his question.  
  
"I am bonded to it. To all people, and therefore I must pilot. I have nothing else."  
  
"Bonded to Eva? To everyone?" Rei nodded, confusing Shinji greatly.  
  
'Ayanami does this because she is bonded to people? I haven't seen her with any friends . . . she never talks . . . yet she does this for them? I don't understand . . . because she has nothing else? Do I? Do I have anything else?' Shinji reflected on his life before he came to Tokyo-3. 'Shuffled between teachers and relatives that don't really want me . . . do I want to return to that?'  
  
"You're very strong, Rei. I envy you."  
  
Rei's face hadn't moved from her usual bland expression, but her voice gave away the curiosity she felt. "You envy me? Why?"  
  
"Because . . . you can do something. I'm pathetic. I was in great shape and yet refused to help. You were willing to pilot in my place, even when you were injured. All I did was screw up."  
  
"No you didn't." Shinji looked up at Rei, confusion spread across his face. "Eva's purpose is to destroy the Angels. You did that."  
  
"But . . . Unit 01 . . . I can't use it . . ."  
  
"That doesn't mean that you are useless. You still have a place at NERV."  
  
Shinji's eyes narrowed with suspicion. "What does my father want me to do now?"  
  
Rei shook her head. "Commander Ikari is not here. I believe that the idea was Captain Katsuragi's . . ."  
  
"Misato's idea? . . ."  
  
Ringing interrupted his thought train as Rei reached into her school bag and retrieved her cell phone.  
  
'Who could that be? . . .' thought Shinji and Rei placed the phone on her ear.  
  
"Yes? . . . Yes . . . With me . . . No . . . . Yes . . . . Yes . . . . . . . . . Yes."  
  
She hung up her phone, and turned back to the boy. "I am to escort you back to the Katsuragi residence, and am authorized to use force if necessary."  
  
Shinji stared at the blue haired girl for a moment. He seriously doubted that she could do anything to hurt him, with her arm in a cast and eye bandaged. The more he thought about it, the more ridiculous it seemed until he had to laugh.  
  
Rei's face didn't change as she watched the boy giggle, then break out into a good laugh. She allowed him to finish getting air back into his lungs before she spoke.  
  
"Why are you laughing?"  
  
"I'm sorry Ayanami, but it, you forcing me to, it's just funny. That you could force me to do anything with your arm like that. My father is insane."  
  
"Commander Ikari did not give me the order. It was Captain Katsuragi."  
  
"Misato?"  
  
"Yes. She was inquiring if I knew your location, and then gave me an order to return you to her residence. We should get going before she begins to rip out her hair, as she said."  
  
Rei began to walk away from her residence towards Misato's place, and Shinji followed behind her.  
  
"What do you mean 'pull out her hair'?"  
  
"Misato said she was worried to the point she was ready to pull out her hair. I don't think that would be a pleasant experience."  
  
"No, I don't think it would be." Shinji hung his head but smiled a little at the thought of Misato ripping out her hair because she was worried about him. It also made him glad that there was someone who cared about him. Honestly, he didn't think that his previous caregivers would have given a damn if he disappeared. But Misato cared.  
  
But then again, Misato wasn't the problem. It was the new redheaded roommate.  
  
"Ikari, why would Misato rip out her hair if she was worried about you?"  
  
Shinji looked up in surprise at the girl. "I guess it's because she . . . cares . . ." Shinji again looked at the pavement, avoiding Rei's curious stare. She didn't say anything, but a coughing sound a moment later caused Shinji to look up..  
  
When he looked up, he realized that Rei had moved some distance from him and was waiting for him down the street.. Not wanting to be felt alone again, he jogged up behind her. She didn't say anything once again, but continued on her journey with Shinji tagging along behind her.  
  
The two walked in silence. Rei stared straight ahead, but the boy next to her could not tear his eyes off the mysterious pilot.  
  
It was the first time Shinji had actually looked at the girl. Althourgh he had seen her that one time before first piloting Eva 01, and various times at school, he never really looked at her, taken in any details of her features. The way her short hair bounced as she walked, the soft curves of her face, the sad yet determined look in her eyes . . . they all seemed familiar to Shinji for some reason.  
  
Every time he looked at her now, he was reminded of Unit 01, and not because he first saw her before he piloted Unit 01, or the fact she was an Eva pilot. He knew it wasn't for those reasons, although his mind could not understand how he knew it wasn't for those reasons. It was something deeper . . . a secret that his heart knew but wasn't letting his mind know just yet.  
  
He didn't know how long he stared at Rei, but when he looked forward at last he was standing in front of the door to Misato's apartment, and Rei was knocking on the door. The door opened, and he suddenly found himself in a tight embrace.  
  
Misato rushed out and engulfed the young boy, an expression of worry and anxiety on her face. She held the boy for a good minute before letting him up, and allowing him to once again breath.  
  
"Shinji . . . I . . ." Misato looked at him with tears in her eyes, words failing her in her relief at seeing Shinji again.  
  
Shinji gave her a small, sad smile. "I'm . . . home." 


	5. God's Wings 0:5 First Days and a Jet Alo...

___________NEO___________  
  
_________GENESIS_________  
  
______EVANGELION_______  
  
__________GOD'S__________  
  
__________WINGS__________  
  
~Shinji~  
  
Shinji came to a definite conclusion halfway through the night, and that was that he would never sleep on Misato's couch again. Even with his small stature, Shinji did not quite fit on the small couch. His head was resting at an uncomfortable angle on the armrest, while his left foot was in an unpleasant position hanging off the side.  
  
He drifted in and out of slumber until the sun started to shine in through the balcony window. Musing that he was not going to get any more meaningful sleep, the young Ikari tossed off the spare blanket Misato had given him and gratefully rose from his temporary sleeping bed. He then proceeds to fold the ruffled blanket and places it in the closet in the hall.  
  
Shinji looked down at his ruffled clothes. He had worn his school uniform to bed, because he was worried that his new roommate would wake up before him and see him in just his sleeping attire - again, he added silently - and he didn't want a repeat of that experience. He was also so tired after his little walk around Tokyo-3 and meeting Rei that he probably didn't have the energy to even take off his clothes if he wanted to.  
  
Yawning, Shinji made his way into the kitchen only to find it empty. He hadn't expected to see Misato in there - in the entire week he had been living here she had yet to wake up before him. That turned out to be a blessing, as despite the agreement to split the chores, Shinji preferred his cooking to whatever Misato usually made.  
  
The person Shinji was looking for was Asuka. He had found out that she had moved in with him in the worst possible way. He had only meet her two days ago, but already he had been able to grope her breasts twice and upset her beyond anything else. It wasn't his fault - the incidents had been accidents, but she still blamed him.  
  
Fortunately, the red head was no where to be seen. It was still early, and it was entirely possible that she was not up yet. He did not dare to look into his old room to find out - in fact, after last night, he honestly believed he would not go into that room ever again.  
  
However, he pushed his worries aside and began to focus on more immediate things, like starting breakfast before Misato woke up and demanded that she cook it. Not that she usually did, but he didn't want to risk it after that curry incident.  
  
Ritsuko claimed she would never eat anything resembling curry again after her visit during dinner, and Shinji could understand.  
  
And maybe if he made a good enough breakfast, Asuka would start to forgive him. Maybe.  
  
Oh, well. It was the only thing he could do right now. Now, what would she like . . ?  
  
~Asuka~  
  
Those who knew her knew that Asuka Langley Soyhru was not a morning person.  
  
"Asuka, you need to get up." Moaning, the girl turned over in her bed and shifted her pillow so that it covered her ears, trying to block out the annoying person outside of her room. However, whomever it was trying to get her attention did not let up and continued yelling and banging on her door.  
  
Asuka gave up any chance to continue sleeping and turned towards the offending noise, determined in her groggy mind to tell it off for waking her up. However, she stopped when she did immediately recognize her surroundings.  
  
"Asuka, get up! We have to get to NERV!" Click. It came back to her suddenly. She was in Japan, Tokyo-3, transferred, living with Misato and that pervert Shinji whom had already touched her twice.  
  
"Asuka!"  
  
Asuka scrawled and answered in an annoyed voice "Alright, I'm up already!" She matched action with word by swinging her legs off the bed and beginning to look for clothes. Unfortunately, she had yet to unpack and most of them were in boxes. Sighing, she picked up one of the school uniforms that Misato had gotten her.  
  
Looking at the uniform, she quickly checks her bedside clock to find it was past eleven in the morning.  
  
Panicked, she screamed "Misato! It's eleven o'clock! Why didn't you wake me up?!? I CAN'T be late on the first day!"  
  
Misato's resigned voice came through her door. "It's not your first day. You start school with Shinji tomorrow, remember?" Asuka's door shook again as the Major tried to open it. "And since when does this door have a lock? Asuka, could you please open this door?"  
  
Asuka's eyes narrowed. She enjoyed privacy when she changed, as any decent person would and attributed Misato's lack of understanding of the concept to being Japanese.  
  
"I'll open the door when I'm good and ready, just hold your horses, or whatever you Japanese hold!" She continued to dress, buttoning her skirt and putting on her blouse before Misato decided to break down the door. When she finished, she removed the strategically placed 'The Club' from the door and opened it to admit the frustrated woman waiting outside.  
  
"Thanks. Um, you're missing your ribbon." Misato pointed down at Asuka's barren collar.  
  
"I don't need you to tell me how to dress!" Asuka quickly turned around and grabbed the small red ribbon, tying it around her collar.  
  
Misato gave a little chuckle, then eyed Asuka in an amused face. "You know, that uniform looks good on you. Your plush toy would . . ."  
  
Asuka's eyes narrowed. "Didn't I tell you to quit that joke? He ISN'T my ANYTHING. GOT it?"  
  
Misato couldn't help but smile at the girl's outright rejection. "Whatever you say."  
  
Asuka growled at Misato. She knew from the look on her guardian's face that it was FAR from over. "I MEAN it, Misato. Do NOT call him that again!"  
  
"Alright, alright. I won't call Shinji your plush toy no more." Asuka slumped. A double negative. That meant it could go either way - she may mean that she definitely won't, or she definitely will. Asuka would know this because she used the same trick a lot herself.  
  
"Misato, I'm telling you . . ." A large growl silenced her. Her stomach was empty and was demanding to be rectified. "Whatever, Misato." Asuka pushed the Major to the side and made her way into the kitchen. She first tried the fridge, but only found beer. The cabinets were stuffed full of chips and more beer, while the freezer only held some ice.  
  
"Misato! Don't you have anything else around here to eat!?!"  
  
Misato appeared in the kitchen in response to the girl's yell. "Shinji said the same thing. He made some breakfast for you this morning before he left for school. It's in the microwave."  
  
Asuka opened the appliance to find a dish ready to eat. In fact, it looked like . . .  
  
"Misato! Is this Eggs Benedict?" cried Asuka, trying to keep from drooling.  
  
Misato smiled. "He went all out. It sounds like him."  
  
"Ham . . . Sausage . . . even hash browns?" Asuka pulled the dish out of the microwave and set it on the table, and when Misato wasn't looking, wiped away some drool from her chin.  
  
Misato watched the girl devour the dish with a raised eyebrow. "You know, I was going to tell you that you only had fifteen minutes to eat, but I don't think it'll last for five."  
  
"Very funny." Asuka paused only give Misato a quick retort, then continued to inhale her food. She finished quickly, and leaned back in her chair, a content look on her face. "You know, Shinji may be a pervert and idiot, but he's a damn good cook."  
  
Misato chuckled. "Yeah, I know. He cooks here a lot, even when it's my turn to cook. I think he enjoys doing it."  
  
Asuka, who had yet to experience Misato's cooking, only shrugged. She guessed that he was just another housebroken male, and not that it was for his own survival against whatever toxic waste Misato produced when she cooked.  
  
Misato checked her watch. "Now, we have to get going. We have to go pick up Shinji and Rei from school. There's a high level situational briefing in NERV at thirteen hundred hours."  
  
Asuka cringed at the idea of seeing her male roommate again, considering the fact that her last meeting with Shinji was still fresh in her mind. "WHY do I have to put up with that idiot? Can't you just take me there and get him later? Why does he have to be there anyway? Idiots like him should stay in school so they might learn something!"  
  
Misato grinned. "Still anxious about seeing your favorite plush toy?"  
  
"MISATO!!!"  
  
~Shinji~  
  
Lunchtime was precious, not for the fact that the students of the Tokyo-3 Junior High School were able to fill their growling stomachs or get away from the endless one-way discussion of the Second Impact. The most important thing about this time was the ability to converse with other students through words, and not instant messages.  
  
And that is what one young boy would gladly be doing with his only friend in this school, had the freckled boy not been conversing with a taller and more muscular boy at the other end of the school yard.  
  
Shinji Ikari sighed. Touji was still mad at him about his sister, and although Kensuke was trying to persuade him otherwise, Touji still hated Shinji. He could tell because the taller boy would always have this angry look on his face whenever he saw Shinji. It was probably Kensuke that kept him from repeating his first encounter with Shinji.  
  
Therefore, the young man sat alone underneath the shade of a tree, eating his home-made lunch and listening to his SDAT player to try and quell the feeling of loneliness that welled up inside of him. As a result, he did not hear the approaching footsteps from behind him.  
  
Needless to say, Shinji was extremely surprised when and hand came down on his shoulder and shook him. Turning around, he saw Asuka looking down at him, a devious looking smile on her face.  
  
Shinji leaned back away from the girl in surprise. He hadn't been expecting to see her for a while and at school much less. Considering the last time he saw her was right after the bed incident when he accidentally felt up her chest, she seemed awfully cheerful to see him again.  
  
And that is something that frightened Shinji Ikari very much.  
  
Asuka's devilish smile filled Shinji's vision as she came in close to his face. Shinji's breathing became quick and his face red as he struggled to get the ear buds out of his ears.  
  
"You think that a little breakfast is going to save you from me?" Asuka's smile grew wider as Shinji grew pale. "Do you honestly think that I would forget about last night just like that?"  
  
Shinji grew a shade of white that even Rei couldn't match and desperately tried to back away from the Second Child, but his back was to the tree and couldn't get any farther away from her. "P_P_Please, Asuka, it was an accident . . ."  
  
Asuka kept her face right up into his. "I'm going to enjoy this . . ."  
  
"What do you wish to enjoy, Pilot Sohyru?"  
  
Shinji looked up to see his personal guardian angel watching over him in the form of Rei Ayanami. No matter how annoyed his roommate got at him, Shinji doubted that Asuka would do anything too violent while someone, especially another Eva pilot, was watching.  
  
Asuka narrowed her eyes at the intruder and frowned. She hated to be interrupted, and the fact that this girl just did interrupt her was unforgivable. She pulled away from her prey, allowing Shinji to sidestep and get up on his feet while Asuka approached her new victim.  
  
"Just WHO do you think you are?" Asuka said as she approached the blue- haired girl, her hands on her hips to look dominating.  
  
Rei stood passively. "Rei Ayanami, the First Child."  
  
Asuka's devil smile returned at the introduction. "I'm Asuka Langley Sohryu, designated pilot of Unit 02."  
  
Rei didn't move. "I know. I have already addressed you as pilot. I am the same as you and Shinji."  
  
Asuka's smile faded at Rei's statement, and frowned when she realized that Rei was correct. "WELL, only pilots with EVAS are important you know."  
  
"That is incorrect. Shinji was not piloting an Eva and still as instrumental in destroying the previous Angel's core. It is due to that fact that we are to report to NERV for . . ."  
  
Asuka scrawled at Rei. "I could have taken out that Angel WITHOUT that idiot's help!!"  
  
Rei didn't respond, and Shinji was forced to look from one female pilot to the other. Oddly enough, he was reminded of an old-fashioned showdown in some of those pre-Second Impact westerns. The fiery, angry Asuka versus the cold, passive Rei, and the clock tower was about to strike noon.  
  
In fact, Shinji jumped when Rei's wristwatch alarm went off. The girl calmly turned it off before facing Asuka again.  
  
"We must report to NERV for the situational briefing. I believe Major Katsuragi is waiting for us." With that, Rei walked past the angry Second Child and didn't look back. Asuka glared at the back of Rei with a look that could kill.  
  
Shinji sighed in relief. He had been really worried that something would erupt, and he didn't want to be in the middle of it.  
  
Asuka grabbed Shinji by his ear and pulled him in her wake. "C'mon, Third. I'll decide your punishment later."  
  
Shinji tried unsuccessfully to realize himself from her grip. "Asuka . . . ow . . . this is really painful . . . ah . . . ouch . . ."  
  
~Shinji~  
  
"Shinji, did you know that your ear is all red?" Ritsuko said when she met Misato and the children outside briefing room 19. She bent over him, trying to get a better look at the same ear that just minutes earlier had been in Asuka's unforgivable grip.  
  
Shinji quickly tilted his head away from the prying doctor. "It'll be alright. It's just sore from stress."  
  
Ritsuko stood up straight. "Stress? How . . . ?"  
  
"Asuka."  
  
Ritsuko gave a small smile when it clicked inside her brain. "Oh. Well, I can't help you with that. You might want to talk to Misato about it if you're having problems with her. But you'll have to do that later. Right now we have to get inside."  
  
With that, she pushed Shinji inside the dark room. Shinji could make out Misato, Hyuga, and Maya in the second row of seats, along with Vice- Commander Fuyutsuki sitting in the back. Thankfully, he could not find his father anywhere in the room.  
  
He spotted Asuka and Rei sitting in the front row, apparently as far apart as they could get. Shinji decided to join them in the front, sitting just a chair away from Rei. He looked up at Asuka, to see if she had noticed him yet.  
  
Asuka was looking right at Shinji, but she didn't seem angry like earlier. In fact, she looked comptenplative for once, like she was pondering something deep and profound.  
  
'I hoped she's calmed down a bit. Maybe she's just deciding what punishment she's going to come up for me.'  
  
Shinji looked back up at the girl, but when she saw him looking, she quickly turned forward and hid her eyes underneath her long bangs.  
  
Fuyutsuki cleared his throat, and the room became darker. "Alright, people, let's get going here. I know that Ritsuko and her staff still have a lot of work to do after this briefing."  
  
A split picture of the two Angels came up on the projection screen. Fuyutsuki spoke up in his even voice. "As you well know, NERV and the Evangelions have successfully engaged in combat with the Angels." A picture of the Third Angel came up. "The first Angel to appear was engaged with Unit 01. However, during that battle, the Eva went into berserk and consumed the Angel, along with its core and power supply. However, we shall discuss this later in the briefing."  
  
A picture of the snake-like Angel, the fourth Angel, appeared on the screen. "The next Angel appeared a week later. Unit 02 was scrambled from its cargo ship in New Yokosuka, using the back-up power supply, and with support, managed to destroy the Angel's core."  
  
Maya spoke up, but didn't remove her sight from the clipboard in front of her. "The Angel is still almost completely intact, making it a good scientific sample. However, because the core of the Angel's body was completely destroyed, we cannot analysis it and draw comparisons between it and Unit 01."  
  
A picture of Unit 02 in its cage came up on screen. "Due to Unit 01's unreliability and Unit 00's condition, Unit 02 and its pilot, the Second Child, have been brought in from Germany so that we have a functional unit ready to combat the Angels. Unit 02 is to remain on standby until further notice."  
  
Ritsuko took over the meeting now. It seemed funny to Shinji, how everyone seemed to already know what was going on but they still have something like this.  
  
A picture of Unit 00, frozen in mid-punch, covered in Bakelite, and surrounded by cranes projected up. "Unit 00 went berserk during an activation trial, and the First Child was injured in the process. We are in the middle of removing the Bakelite, and ready to retry the activation trials as soon as the pilot is able, which will be in thirteen days."  
  
Rei sat passively as Shinji observed her. She showed no anxiety, no fear, no emotion whatsoever as her superiors laid out the plan for Unit 00. It only led to increase Shinji's curiosity with the mysterious First Child.  
  
"Finally, the basis for this meeting. Unit 01." The picture that appeared brought a gasp from many of the people in the room, along with some surprised mutterings in German. The Eva was wrapped in bandages, and spots of red soaked through at some points. All of its head armor had not been repaired yet, and therefore many biological parts of it were still showing. In fact, the green eyes could be seen from behind the bandages.  
  
Ritsuko continued, apparently not affected by the graphic image. "Unit 01 is currently under heavy restraint within Cage 07, and under constant observation by the Magi. So far, there have been no thermal or electromagnetic emissions from Unit 01, and as far as we can tell, its S-2 Organ that it ingested is completely inactive. However, there is still much concern."  
  
"Much of the internal workings of the Eva have been rearranged, along with slight modifications to the shoulder and back structures. The Eva made these changes itself, and their purpose is still unknown. It is most likely that the Eva stopped functioning before they could be completed. We probably will not know their function unless the Eva reactivates and completes the process."  
  
"Also, the Eva has managed to rip off its bindings. This is our gravest concern. The ability to rid itself of our control, along with the endless power supply provided by its S-2 organ, makes it a possible threat even greater than the Angels. Therefore the UN and special committee have deemed it unfit for combat or any kind of use."  
  
Fuyutsuki cleared his voice, and Ritsuko sat down. "I have received orders from the UN Security Council earlier today in regard to Unit 01. They have informed me that a special containment and research facility is being constructed in Norway for the express purpose of examining Unit 01 and its S-2 organ. This facility will house Unit 01 until further notice, once it is completed. It's scheduled to be completed within the next two months. Until that time, NERV is to keep Unit 01 in stasis, and then transport it via land to the facility."  
  
Shinji hung his head. Three pilots, two Evas. They were going to dismiss him. He was going to be sent away, he just knew it.  
  
"Now, on to the subject of pilots. The First and Second Children will stay with their respective Evas. Major Katusagi was filed a recommendation in regards to the Third Child, Shinji Ikari, in light of recent activities."  
  
Shinji held his breath.  
  
"The Third Child is to be assigned and trained as a back-up pilot for Eva Unit 02, but also assigned under the UN's task force stationed at Air Base Iruma, outside Tokyo-3 as a pilot for the fighter support squadrons."  
  
Shinji let out his breath, his eyes wide, his thoughts scrambled. It was like opening a box expecting a bomb, and getting ten million yen.  
  
Asuka's voice was in the background, complaining about him being inside of her Eva, expressing her concern that it to would go berserk if he piloted it, or doing other things with it, but Shinji was far away from it all.  
  
He was going to fly again.  
  
~Asuka~  
  
Asuka hated her alarm clock. No matter how hard she hit it, it kept on going off, even if slammed with a blunt object. She knew this quite well, as she tried it almost every morning. But it still wouldn't shut up. Therefore, the only way to regain the previous quiet was to reach around it and turn it off. But when she did so she was awake to the point that going back to sleep was not an option, and she was forced to get up out of her warm bed.  
  
And this morning was no exception. Her desk lamp proved to be no match against the resilient clock. She would have to get a new lamp after pounding her old one on her clock for what seemed like hours, but in reality was only five minutes. She conceded defeat to the damn thing, turning it off and rolling out of bed.  
  
She pulled down 'The Club' that she used to keep the resident pervert, a.k.i. Shinji Ikari, from coming in and feeling her up again, from the door and proceeded into the bathroom for a hot shower.  
  
Opening the door, however, proved to be a mistake as a cloud of steam and the sight of the resident pervert, Shinji Ikari, relaxing in the tub greeted her.  
  
Asuka froze, her mouth wide open. "Whoa . . ." she whispered.  
  
Red-faced, Asuka backed away slowly and closed the door behind her, thankful that Shinji had not seen or heard her come in.  
  
"Whoa . . ."  
  
Misato exited her room to find Asuka leaning against the door of the bathroom, red-faced and wide-eyed. "What's up with you?"  
  
Asuka turned her head toward the major. "Do not mention a word of this . . ." she said before proceeding to the kitchen.  
  
Misato cocked her head in confusion. She walked up to the bathroom door and pressed her ear to it, where she clearly heard sounds of splashing in a tub.  
  
Misato grinned with the realization. "Oh . . . This will be fun . . ."  
  
~Shinji~  
  
Shinji finished drying off and put on his school uniform before walking out of the bathroom. Following the routine, he proceeded into the kitchen, hoping that he would get there before Misato and be able to fix an edible breakfast.  
  
Asuka had yet to experience Misato's cooking first hand, he expected. She didn't get a look of pure terror whenever Misato offered to cook.  
  
'Speak of the devil . . .' Asuka was siting at the table, watching Misato try to make some steam rice. Misato noticed him, however, and smiled.  
  
"Well, Shinji, I can't let you do all the cooking. Asuka, he's out . . ."  
  
Asuka slammed her fist down on the table. "SHUT UP! And it's about time! He takes FOREVER!" Asuka got up and stormed off towards the shower.  
  
"I had to get dressed in there, I don't have a room you know!" Shinji yelled after her, but she completely ignored him as she pasted and entered the bathroom, slamming the door shut.  
  
Shinji sighed. "She's still not talking to me . . . she must really hate me . . ."  
  
Misato looked up from her smoking pot of rice. "I don't think so, Shinji. She just . . . well . . . I don't know how to say it. But I don't think she really hates you."  
  
"Hmmm." Shinji sat down and slumped in his seat.  
  
Misato smiled at him. "By the way, I've managed to get some furniture from NERV. It's being delivered later today into the far room - you'll have your own room again."  
  
Shinji couldn't help but smile. "That's great. Sleeping on that couch is torture."  
  
Misato frowned. "I've slept on it many times, and I've never had a problem."  
  
Shinji gave her a look. "And how many of those times were you drunk out of your skull?"  
  
"Er . . ."  
  
Shinji shook his head. "That's what I thought."  
  
Misato went back to her stove. "Um, anyway, after school I'll meet you to head out to Iruma and get your assignment squared away . . ."  
  
Shinji's face lit up. "Will I get to fly again today?"  
  
Misato shrugged. "I don't know. I really don't know how it will go there. Probably a lot of paperwork . . . but we'll see. Anyway, during school, I want you to help Asuka, show her around, ok?"  
  
"Asuka hates me . . ."  
  
"I already said that she doesn't. Trust me. Just try, ok? Now, try some of this soup . . ."  
  
Shinji cringed. "Wasn't that supposed to be rice?"  
  
"Well, yeah, but the rice dissolved in the special sauce I made, so now it's soup!"  
  
Shinji turned blue as a bowl was placed in front of him. Some of it splashed out of the bowl and landed on the tablecloth, were Shinji could swear he saw it smoking where the liquid touched it.  
  
~Asuka~  
  
Asuka usually did not take long in the bath - only as long as it took to make herself clean and pretty and then get out. Sitting around only brought memories, and many were the kind that she didn't want to remember.  
  
However, today as she lay in the tub, her thoughts were on her male roommate. She just plain did not know what to think about him. She reviewed everything she knew about him, every encounter, every expression and deed, and she had yet to figure him out.  
  
Or how she should feel about him.  
  
The conclusion failed to reach her as she got out of the tub and wrapped her upper body and hair in her red towels. It still would not come to her as she walked out of the bathroom and into her own room, nor as she put on her school uniform.  
  
"Asuka! You better hurry up!"  
  
Asuka jumped at Misato's voice. Her thoughts about Shinji were dismissed as she finished dressing and ran out of her room.  
  
Misato stopped her in the kitchen. "Asuka, you're forgetting your ribbon again."  
  
Asuka swore in German and ran back into her room, and returned to the kitchen with her red ribbon tied around her collar. She looked around, but didn't find Shinji. But she did find the clock, and according to it if she didn't leave in two minutes she was in trouble.  
  
Misato thrust some lunch bags into her arms. "These are the lunches Shinji made, but he left without them."  
  
Asuka snorted. "Idiot."  
  
Misato kept a firm grip on the girl's shoulder, preventing her from leaving. "Listen to me for a second, Asuka. Don't be angry with Shinji. Let him help you today."  
  
"And why should I? Are you trying to set us up?"  
  
"No I'm not, Asuka. I can't think of a worse fate then living with two teenage lovebirds. It's just that he thinks you hate him, and will probably try to make up with you today. I just don't want you to spur him."  
  
"Humph." Asuka turned away from her guardian, her nose up in the air.  
  
"Do it or I'll tell him about your little peeping session earlier today."  
  
Asuka glared at Misato. "You wouldn't . . . And I wasn't peeping! It was an ACCIDENT!"  
  
"Just like how Shinji ACCIDENTLY copped a feel? Do it, Asuka, or else."  
  
With that, Misato let go of the girl's shoulder and proceeded into the bathroom to take her bath. Asuka stood in that spot, muttering to herself about scheming guardians and stupid roommates until she heard the clock strike five after, and she bolted out of the room.  
  
~Shinji~  
  
Shinji was watching the two people in front of him conversing with a sense of jealousy. They seemed to have an easy time just saying what they wanted, and didn't stutter at all, like he usually did whenever he talked to even the closest person.  
  
They were even laughing. Shinji had never made a person laugh intentionally. He just lacked the ability, and doubted he would ever have it.  
  
Shinji bowed his head to avoid looking at them again. He had been doing that a lot lately. But he was surprised when two small brown bags were thrust into his stomach.  
  
Shinji looked up to see red hair and blue eyes looking at him.  
  
"Well, since you nearly forgot your lunch and I had to grab it for you, you can carry them. It's the least you can do to make it up for me."  
  
Shinji took the two bags from her, and a faint smile appeared on his face. "I made your lunch, and you carried them, so doesn't that mean that we're even?"  
  
Asuka leaned over so that her face was near Shinji's. "Nope. You should consider it a privilege to make my lunch, Third Child. And revel in the fact that I trust you with doing such an important task."  
  
"A p . . p . ." Asuka's hand covered Shinji's mouth, keeping him from speaking.  
  
"Shinji, you shouldn't stutter. Try it again."  
  
"B . . B . ." Asuka's hand covered his mouth again.  
  
"Think about what you want to say before you say it." She glared again, and removed her hand.  
  
Shinji took a moment and breath before speaking. "I didn't want you to eat Misato's cooking, for your own safety."  
  
"That's better, Third Child. What's wrong with Misato's cooking?"  
  
Shinji smiled. "I think what's not wrong would be a shorter story . . ."  
  
~Shinji~  
  
"The Principal's Office is down that way. You have to check in with the Secretary to get your class assignment. Then you'll meet the teacher and introduce yourself to the class. And then the day continues like it would."  
  
Asuka nodded, and smiled. "It'll be wherever they put the smartest students."  
  
"Whatever you say, Asuka." With that, he turned away from her and proceeded into class 2-A.  
  
Shinji had to admit he didn't want to leave her. He wasn't very experienced with dealing and conversing with others, and the talk they had on the way to school, swapping stories about Misato's cooking, Asuka's experiences with Eva and the NERV Germany branch, was a lot more bonding that what he usually did with others.  
  
Shinji liked it, but at the same time feared it. Feared losing it.  
  
By some twist of fate, Shinji came face-to-face with Touji when he entered the classroom. He tried to sidestep the big boy, but Touji kept him from entering.  
  
"Um, excuse me, Touji."  
  
Touji glared down at Shinji and did not move. A few tense eyes watched the two.  
  
"Please."  
  
Touji finally stepped aside, letting Shinji into the classroom. But he could still feel Touji's eyes goring into the back of his skull. Shinji tried to ignore the butterflies in his stomach as he took his seat near the back as his teacher made his entrance.  
  
"Rise, Bow, Sit!" said Hikari, the class representative. Few actually paid any attention to her, but Shinji was one of them. Strangely enough, so was Touji.  
  
The old teacher, in contrast to his usual routine of starting discussing some aspect of Second Impact, gestured outside the classroom. Of course, this gained everyone's attention.  
  
"Class, today we have a new student joining us today. Er, what was your name again, miss?"  
  
To Shinji's surprise, Asuka strode into the room. Next to him, Kensuke's jaw dropped in surprise at seeing the girl again.  
  
Asuka proceeded to write her full name on the blackboard, and turned to face the class with a broad smile on her face. "I'm Asuka Langley Sohryu. Charmed, huh?"  
  
The room was silent.  
  
~Shinji~  
  
Despite the shock of her arrogance, people started to warm up to Asuka. She was always bragging how she gets forty love letters a day, and she had only been in the school for a week. Crowds of people always seem to follow the redhead, but they seemed to dwindle each day. It was kind of like getting bored of a new toy, Shinji noted.  
  
Lunches, naturally, were a different story. Asuka didn't have her fan club with her during lunch, as they were too busy eating to pay any attention to her. Therefore, she spent her time with either Hikari, the only person to really pay attention to the Second Child seriously, or Shinji when Hikari was doing school rep business.  
  
Shinji had to admit, although loud, Asuka was nice to be with. She would give her opinion about almost anything, from lunch to life. Hearing her side of things often made him wonder about his own views about things. Of course, if he didn't agree with her he wouldn't tell her. She was quite stubborn.  
  
"So, Third, aren't you supposed to be going to flight school yet?"  
  
Shinji swallowed his food and faced her. "Misato finally finished all the red tape paperwork. I'm skipping four years of flight school and immediately joining the squad for on-the-job training. All the pilots are using the Hawk for the first time."  
  
Asuka made a noise of irritation. "I don't see how flying can be such a big deal to you."  
  
Shinji cocked an eyebrow at her. "I don't see how Eva can be such a big deal to you."  
  
"I get to save the world, and everyone will know me and how good I am! I'll be world famous! How in the world could you not make it a big deal?"  
  
"Even if you hurt others? When people's lives are ruined or homes destroyed because of what you did?"  
  
"Better than letting the Angels have their way."  
  
Shinji was silent, staring at the girl. What did she mean by that? "Angels having their way? Huh?"  
  
"Well, you're in Nerv, right? You do know, about Second Impact . . . right?"  
  
"You mean about the meteor?"  
  
Asuka leaned in close, so her face was close to his. "You really don't know, do you?" At Shinji's dumb look, a superior and knowing grin came on her face. She whispered, "Second Impact wasn't caused by a meteor - it was caused by an Angel."  
  
"WHAT!?!?!"  
  
Asuka's hand covered his mouth, silencing the Ikari. "Shhh! It's top secret - few know about it. Angels caused the Second Impact, and we are here to make sure that they don't cause a THIRD Impact."  
  
"I . . . didn't know . . ."  
  
Asuka shrugged returned to her lunch undisturbed, but Shinji suddenly didn't feel hungry. The rest of the period was spent in silence.  
  
~Shinji~  
  
"To save the world from Third Impact? That is what Eva does?" thought Shinji as he stared out the window of the moving train.  
  
"The train heading for Iruma Air Base arriving in approximately fifteen minutes. I repeat . . ." The train was empty, save Shinji - not many people from Toyko-3 had a reason to go to the distant air base, and the soldiers and pilots stationed there did not have any reason to leave the outskirts of the base, as shops were plastered all around the base. The owners decided it was better for business to be close to the buying soldiers, and were more likely to keep their shop intact if it were away from the often damaged fortress city.  
  
"The train is now pulling into station. All passengers please step behind the yellow line. I repeat . . ."  
  
The train lurched to a stop a moment later, and the doors opened to allow the train's solo passenger to disembark. Shinji grabbed his bag, containing some papers Misato said he would need, and exited the station.  
  
Unfortunately, the station was located a dozen blocks from the main entrance of the base. For security reasons, there was no structure within a few hundred meters from the base's perimeter, and that caused a bit of a walk for the young boy.  
  
The guard at the entrance stopped Shinji. Shinji could tell the guard was eyeballing him even through the visor on his helmet.  
  
"ID please."  
  
Shinji pulled out his new NERV card from his pocket and handed it to the waiting armed guard. He looked it over for a moment before handing it back to him.  
  
"Alright, Mr. Ikari, go on." The guard stepped aside to allow Shinji to pass through the gate.  
  
The base was huge, and was bustling with jeeps and soldiers walking, moving, marching or running around. Shinji was supposed to go to the UN Air Combat Headquarters, but there were not any maps that he could find and most of the buildings did not have signs on them. He was lost in a few minutes.  
  
"Excuse me, sir, but . . ." The marching soldier passed right by Shinji. He turned to another person. "Excuse me . . ." The soldier this time glared at Shinji, making him wince, before moving on. Shinji sighed.  
  
"You lost?" Shinji turned in surprise at the voice. Its owner was a young boy like him, with grey hair and unusual red eyes. In fact, he was oddly reminded of Rei.  
  
Shinji smiled sheepishly. "Um, yeah. I'm supposed to go to the UN Air Combat . . ."  
  
"Headquarters?" the boy finished for Shinji. Shinji nodded in response. "That's convenient, as that is my destination as well. If you desire, I can show you the way. I know this base well."  
  
"Yes, that would be great, um . . I don't know your name."  
  
The boy only smiled wider. "I am not surprised, but I believe that I know your name. You are Shinji Ikari, correct?"  
  
"Um, yeah. How did you . . .?"  
  
The boy smiled a smile that Shinji could not help but feel comforted somehow when he saw it. "You seem rather indignant of your status. You are one of the selected children, the protector of life and mankind's future, are you not?"  
  
"Um, I guess . . ."  
  
"You are quite interesting, Mr. Shinji Ikari."  
  
Shinji flushed. "Please, call me Shinji."  
  
The boy held out his hand. "And you may call me Kaworu."  
  
Shinji hesitantly took his hand and shook it. "Pleased to meet you."  
  
~Shinji~  
  
The base, Shinji realized, wasn't just an airstrip and a few buildings. It covered more land than some major cities according to Kaworu, and he had yet to see anything like hangers or landing strips.  
  
Kaworu had stopped a jeep going in the right direction and jumped on the back of it. Now they covered a lot of ground a lot quicker. And he even provided entertainment.  
  
He was humming 'Ode to Joy'.  
  
Shinji stared at him in awe. "You're . . . pretty good at that."  
  
Kaworu again smiled at him. "I've always enjoyed singing. I think it's the best accomplishment of the human culture. Music provides a sort of energy, a drive, to a person. Do you agree?"  
  
Shinji frowned. "I guess . . . I mean, I listen to music all the time at home."  
  
Kaworu stared at him for a moment. "I believe that the type, the drive of the music a person listens to can tell a lot about that person. For example, a person who listens to slow music likes to be safe while a person who listens to high-beat music is reckless. Tell me, Shinji, what is your favorite music piece?"  
  
"Um, I really enjoy Bohemain Rhapsody . . ."  
  
"Then, are you sad at home?"  
  
Shinji's frown grew deeper, and Kaworu gratefully dropped the obviously touchy subject. The ride continued in silence until the jeep came a stop in front of one of the buildings.  
  
The driver looked back at the two teens. "This is your stop, ladies."  
  
Shinji flushed at the guy's statement, but Kaworu only smiled and disembarked from the ride, pulling the stunned Shinji off with him. The jeep sped off down the rode the second their feet touched the ground.  
  
"Why did he call us 'Ladies'?"  
  
Kaworu shrugged. "It is something that many of the older and higher ranking officers do quite often. It is a sort of bonding, but also reminding a person of his status. Or perhaps it is because they wish to avoid attachment through insults, so the officer does not feel any pain if the soldier dies. I have never really understood it myself."  
  
"It's . . . embarrassing."  
  
"Do not worry over it, Shinji. Many people say things in which they do not mean. You have to find the true meaning behind a person's words and actions. Now, I believe that we must enter the Headquarters or else we shall be late."  
  
Shinji nodded, and followed him through the front door. They were greeted by more armed guards, who also asked for Shinji's identification. However, they greeted Kaworu warmly and did not even request his name.  
  
"They already know you?" asked Shinji as he was handed back his ID.  
  
"Being one of the few teenagers to regularly come here has had its benefits. Those two can recognize me from a mile away. They also know my ID by heart, so therefore they don't even bother to stop me now."  
  
Shinji shrugged as he followed Kaworu past the guards and into the building. Kaworu waved at a cheery secretary before leading Shinji down one of the hallways. An elevator took them up three floors, and Kaworu lend him to a corner office.  
  
He knocked on the door, and announced "Mr. Kaworu Nagisa reporting, sir."  
  
"Come in" said a voice through the door, and past it revealed an office decorated with military paraphernalia. Indirect lighting and glass shelves gave the room a homey feel to it. And sitting behind the oak desk in the middle of the room was a familiar face.  
  
Kaworu saluted as Shinji asked "Mr. Midcaff?"  
  
The middle aged man whom Shinji had meet on the aircraft carrier a week prior looked up and gave the boy a half smile. "You're supposed to salute when you address a superior officer."  
  
Shinji spotted Kaworu holding a rigid salute, and copied him the best he could. "Sorry, ah, sir."  
  
"At ease." Kaworu dropped his salute and relaxed. Shinji looked confused and stayed put. "Shinji, you can relax."  
  
"Oh!" Shinji dropped his cumbersome salute.  
  
Kaworu and Viper laughed at Shinji's flushed face. Shinji looked at the ground.  
  
"It's alright, Shinji. I don't scold or reprimand just because you forgot something as silly as saluting. Waste of time, in my opinion. However, doing something like disobeying an order is unforgivable in my book. Don't forget that."  
  
"Yes, Mr. Midcaff."  
  
"That's sir, Mr. Ikari."  
  
Shinji cringed at his lack of knowledge of military ediquet. "Yes, sir."  
  
"Or 'Ma'am, if your addressing a female officer."  
  
"Yes Ma'am, er, I mean, sir, er . . ." Shinji heavily blushed and stared intently at the ground as Kaworu poorly restrained a laugh. Viper looked torn between hurt and amused.  
  
Viper took a steadying breath and assumed a commanding, rigid face. "Alright, you two are to report to the pilot briefing amphitheater in fifteen minutes. Afterwards, I want to see you personally, Shinji. Understood?"  
  
Kaworu stiffened again, and with Shinji, replied, "Yes, sir."  
  
Viper smiled. "You're getting the hang of it. Dismissed." The two boys left without a word.  
  
~Shinji~  
  
Kaworu and Shinji burst into the large amphitheater without a moment to spare, panting hard for all the running they had to do to get there on time, only to find Viper already at the podium. Ten other lean and tough looking people sitting in various seats in the large room, each staring at the two new arrivals.  
  
The two took seats next to each other near the back where only a few of the other men couldn't see them, and avoid the curious stares from the older, tougher men.  
  
Shinji leaned over towards Kaworu and whispered, "If we left his office and came directly here, how did he get here before us?"  
  
"I don't know . . . Many of the pilots and staff have been wondering how he does that as well. He does it all the time . . . he won't answer the question. We've even tried getting him drunk. Still won't talk. There's actually a betting pool . . ."  
  
Viper cleared his throat. "Something you want to share with the rest of us, Ensign?"  
  
Kaworu jumped. "Um, no, sir."  
  
"Good. Now that we have got the chitchat out of the way, let's get down to business. We all know about the Angels - we're not civilians. Tokyo-3 has been built specifically to combat the Angels and provide the facilities needed to operate an Evangelion. So far, they have been the only weapon capable to combat the Angels. But they are not invincible, and need support from time to time. That is our job."  
  
"Gentleman, and lady," said Viper, giving a small bow to a lady up front Shinji didn't notice earlier, "we have been specially chosen by the UN to be the Evangelion Air Support Squadron, designated Titan Squadron. We take orders from NERV, but are provided for by the UN. And provided for we are, as this squadron is not only been graced with the best pilots from around the globe, but as well as the finest machines ever built - the F/A-27 Sky Hawk."  
  
Three pictures, along with detailed diagrams appeared on the amphitheater's movie screen. Shinji recognized two of them, one being a Launcher Hawk that he had personally flown in to attack the fourth Angel, and the other being the ordinary Sky Hawk, without any modification packs. The third looked like the Hawk with a strange set of black and red boosters and wings attached to the back.  
  
"This state of the art flying machine is a prototype for a new kind of weapons platform - a modular one." The picture and diagrams of the regular Sky Hawk enlarged, blocking out the others. "This is the normal version, the Sky Hawk. Armed with AmRams and Sidewinders, four each, along with a four barrel machine gun, it provides enough firepower to take out any airborne threat. It is coupled with the largest powerhouse capabilities and thrust capacity, along with a unique wing design to make it the faster and most maneuverable fighter ever."  
  
Viper pressed a button on the podium, and the view switched over to a picture of the Third Angel, with VTOLs pounding it with rockets. Viper continued on in a monotone voice, a speech he had obviously rehearsed several times. "Unfortunately, the Angels have shown to be impervious to these attacks, although the reason why this is has been classified beyond anything we can access. Therefore the designers have come up with this: the Launcher Hawk."  
  
Schematics for the familiar aircraft came up onto screen. "This version of our little project loses a quarter of its missiles to install the Agni- class plasma cannon. Equipped under the left wing and coupled with a generator for extra power and counter-balance, it sacrifices maneuverability and speed for firepower."  
  
The view again switched to the new type of Sky Hawk that Shinji hadn't seen yet. "The last version of the Hawk is the Aile Hawk. Again, it can only be equipped with two AmRams. However, the thruster pack equipped on its rear is also a sophisticated sensor package, making it a type of scout. Also, there are modifications to allow it to reach space and deploy N-2 mines."  
  
The screen faded and the lights turned on. Viper's voice lost its monotone, changing back to a low pitch of someone who had seen a lot of misery. "Gentlemen and lady, we face an enormous enemy. One that will probably end up taking some of us with it. Make no mistake, this will not be an easy fight, but it is one we must win for everybody. Therefore I encourage you to excel at everything you do in this squadron - that is my number one rule. Individual Squad designations and wingman assignments will be announced at oh-eight hundred tomorrow. Questions?"  
  
One of the guys up front stood up. "Yes, have any of these new fighters been delivered yet?"  
  
"We are currently in possession of two aircraft and two sets of Launcher packs. Anyone else? No? Dismissed."  
  
The pilots in the room stood up, some stretching, and slowly filed out of the room. Viper hung in the front of the room, conversing with a few of the pilots as they left.  
  
Kaworu padded Shinji on the back. "Friend, I have some business to attend to elsewhere. I think the boss will take care of you."  
  
Shinji nodded. "Thank you, Kaworu. I'll see you again later, ok?"  
  
Kaworu smiled. "Roger that." They both chuckled as they parted, Kaworu heading for the exit and Shinji making a beeline for Viper.  
  
Shinji saluted and said, "Shinji Ikari reporting, sir."  
  
Viper chuckled. "I'll make a soldier out of you yet, boy. At ease. I wanted to talk to you about, well, you."  
  
Shinji's curiosity was perked. "Yes, sir."  
  
Viper took a deep breath. "Normally there are an even men or women to a squadron of fighters, so that wing pairs can be made easily. However, because you joined, there are thirteen. You will be the odd man out, and from what I understand, if an Angel attacks, you will more likely be piloting one of those Evangelions, correct?"  
  
Flashes of Unit 01, currently in cryostasis, flashed in Shinji's mind. "I'm, uh, not so sure about that . . ."  
  
"Anyway, those are the expectations I was given. In fact, with your school and NERV work, it is likely that you won't be spending a lot of time with the squad - mostly weekend work. And you might have to switch wingmen from time to time. That's something most pilots don't want to do."  
  
"That's fine with me, sir. I doubt I'll be good enough to be much of a . . ."  
  
Viper stopped him with a glare. "Don't ever say that. Knowing the extant of one's abilities and limits is good to keep from getting over one's head. Arrogance and pride, big-headedness will sometimes put someone in a situation that they could have easily avoided. However, the worst thing is meekness, for when you think you can do something you won't, and when you really can do that something and don't it only causes pain. Understood?"  
  
Shinji cringed and the reprimand. "Yes, sir."  
  
"You've already gone up against an Angel and lived, Shinji. You're a good pilot already, even if you don't seem to realize it. I'll make you better, even if the higher ups consider this as just brushing you off. Dismissed."  
  
Viper left the amphitheater, and Shinji followed in his wake only to be stopped just outside of the door by one of the other pilots.  
  
This man stood over a foot taller than Shinji, his face marred by a wicked scar between his eyes. He scrawled at Shinji. He stood in the young Ikari's way, keeping him from getting anywhere. Viper continued on, not knowing of the confrontation.  
  
"So, what do we have here? Another shrimp sent to us by those NERV bums? Or are you the towel boy for us?"  
  
Shinji squirmed. "No, I'm here too . . ."  
  
A fist connected with the wall near his head startled him into silence. "You better just watch yourself, little man. Keep out of the real pilots' way . . ."  
  
"You mean like me?" Shinji turned to see Kaworu standing in the hall, with his eyes narrowed. "Because if I'm not a real pilot, then what are you, Isaac?"  
  
The man, Isaac, turned to the glaring boy. "You better watch yourself, boy."  
  
"Leave my friend alone, Isaac, or you'll be reporting to a court martial."  
  
The two glared at each other for a moment before Isaac turned his back and stormed off down the hall. Seeing the man leave, Shinji slumped against wall and let out the breath he was holding.  
  
Kaworu looked at Shinji with apologetic eyes. "Sorry about that. He's the resident jerk - most of the other pilots aren't like that. He's just upset that youngsters like you and me were let into the squadron, he feels like he's being replaced. It doesn't help that I was able to shoot him down in a simulator last week. He's been trying to get back at me since."  
  
"He . . . he reminds me of Touji . . ."  
  
Kaworu shrugged. "Well, there isn't much you can do except stand up to him. Those guys just think that they hold a lot of power when they really don't. If you let them tread over you it only gets worse. Now, c'mon. We're at liberty for the rest of the day, and I say we head for the sims."  
  
Shinji smiled. "Sounds like fun to me." They both laughed.  
  
~Asuka~  
  
"So, Shinji, how is it going?"  
  
"Ok, I guess. I'm getting used to it."  
  
"That's great. Let's start where we left off yesterday."  
  
"Right, Ma'am."  
  
Asuka watched her Unit 02, currently standing in a white simulation room, become active and bring up the practice pallet gun into a firing stance. The display monitors in front of her showed Unit 02 standing in the middle of Tokyo-3. Various targets appeared at different places at the city, and Shinji would target and take down the target.  
  
Ritsuko was leaning over Ibuki, reading the display's screen. "Harmonics are at thirty-two point six seven percent."  
  
Asuka smiled smugly. "No where near mine."  
  
Misato stepped up. "But still impressive for only being in Unit 02 for two months, right Ritsuko?"  
  
Asuka scrawled at her guardian as Ritsuko nodded in agreement. "However, Misato," reminded Ritsuko, "he had a much better synch ratio with Unit 01. If the guys at the UN would allow us him to practice in it and not Unit 02, then who knows how high his synch ratio would be right now."  
  
Asuka sat back in her seat, frustrated. She didn't see what was so special about the boy - ok, sure, he was a good beginner, but she had years worth of training in Germany over him. He would never be as good as she was, right?  
  
But then again, if she wasn't worried about him, why would she get so frustrated at him?  
  
It was because he was in her Unit 02 she mused. She had to make sure that he didn't do anything that might mess up her precious Evangelion. Ok, sure the techs and Ritsuko would probably do that, but she had to make sure.  
  
"Drill completed, Ma'am." The good Doctor winced at Shinji's announcement.  
  
"That's very good Shinji, you're getting faster at this. But I told you not to call me 'Ma'am'. I'm not old." Various people started to laugh at Ritsuko, Misato more than anyone.  
  
"I'm sorry, Ritsuko, but it's a habit I fell into at the base. It's customary to address superior females as Ma'am, no matter what their age is."  
  
"But this is NERV, not Iruma, Shinji. Now stop it."  
  
"Yes, Ma'am."  
  
Ritsuko sighed and over the gales of laughter from Misato, announced the next drill. "We're going to start with close combat tactics, Shinji. Ready your prog knife."  
  
Asuka heard a deep sigh over the com. Close combat was Shinji's weakest point, and Asuka's strongest. A fact that she pointed out frequently to him and anyone else around.  
  
"I still don't get it . . ." said Shinji over the com as Unit 02 knife was unsheathed. "A knife is small. It would be better if it was a sword or something with more reach . . ."  
  
"The prog knife is the only thing that will fit in the Eva's shoulder storage compartments. You know that, Shinji. There is just no other way. Get used to it."  
  
Shinji sighed and started the drill, which consisted of another humanoid armed with a similar knife. The goal was to hit the target more than it hit you, but Shinji had yet to pass this drill. He marked high in sniper and artillery drills, but he had a block about close quarter fighting.  
  
Asuka smiled as Shinji tried to outmaneuver his fake opponent, quickly recognizing some mistakes and missed opportunities to score a hit.  
  
Ritsuko leaned back away from the monitor to talk to her old friend. "So, how's Shinji's other job going? I hear he's been doing a lot since he started two months ago."  
  
Misato nodded. "Yeah, he looks forward to going over to Iruma every weekend. In fact, he's not even coming home during the weekend anymore. He shares a room with that friend of his, what's-his-name."  
  
"Kaworu." Asuka replied, cutting in. "The name is Kaworu Nagisa, Misato. I can't believe you don't remember it, he only mentions it in every other sentence."  
  
"Right, anyway, he stays over there during the weekends. He spends a lot of time in the sims there, and I believe they've even had him fly with a patrol or two with Kaworu. In fact, he is his . . . what was it again?"  
  
Asuka gave a long sigh. "Wingman. Shinji is Kaworu's wingman, don't you ever pay attention to him?" Asuka jerked at Misato's sudden grin, and she realized she just made a tactical error.  
  
"So, Asuka, you must pay a lot of attention to him if he's your . . ."  
  
"DON'T SAY IT! DON'T YOU DARE!"  
  
" . . . PLUSH TOY!!!"  
  
"MISATO!!!" cried Auska, red in the face despite herself.  
  
Red lights flashed on the monitors, stopping the nuclear catfight from getting into late rounds. The word 'FAILED' appeared in several places.  
  
Ritsuko let out a frustrated sigh. "Shinji, you must improve in this area. Close combat is the . . ."  
  
"Best way to defeat the Angels, I know that. I just can't move fast enough."  
  
Ritsuko sighed. His low synch ratio with Unit 02 meant that the Eva didn't respond very fast to his mental commands, and handicapped him whenever fast action was needed. There wasn't much they could do about that, aside from trying to increase his synch ratio.  
  
But that probably wasn't going to happen. He just wasn't as compatible with Unit 02 as he was with Unit 01.  
  
"Alright, this test is over. Let's get him out of there." Unit 02 slumped over, its power cut, and techs swarmed over auxiliary bridges to get to the entry plug and pull Shinji from it.  
  
As they were leaving, however, Ritsuko pulled Misato to the side. "Misato, that event that we talked about earlier will be tomorrow."  
  
Misato sighed. "Understood."  
  
~Asuka~  
  
BEEP!  
  
Asuka pulled out the microwave instant noodles and sat down at the table. She pried open the container and sighed at the contents. She hated eating over the weekend. It didn't take long for her to realize that Misato's cooking was not edible, and Asuka didn't know how to cook any of the stuff Shinji had in the pantry. Therefore she was forced to eat Misato's instant junk.  
  
Slurping down some of the noodles, and making a mental promise to herself to make sure Shinji packed the kitchen with some decent food next time, something she knew how to cook. She was surprised to hear noises from Misato's room.  
  
'Any minute now . . .' Misato had just woken up, apparently. It was always fun and yet sickening to watch the grown woman in her morning routine of drinking a case of beer in the first hour of the day. In fact, she was counting on it.  
  
Today she had plans. She didn't know why she didn't think of this earlier, as she held the camera in her lap, ready to take some embarrassing photos of Misato. That way she would be for sure to never mention her 'Plush Toy' again.  
  
Hearing the door opening, Asuka quickly turned, holding up the camera . . .  
  
. . . only to get a picture of a fully dressed Misato, in her dress uniform no less. Asuka promptly dropped the camera in surprise  
  
"Asuka, what are you doing?"  
  
"I, um, was making a documentary on my life?"  
  
Misato shrugged, not really believing her story but knowing that see probably wouldn't get anything else out of the girl. "I'm leaving on business and probably won't be back till late, so have something delivered for dinner. Bye."  
  
"Um, sure. . ." Asuka said to the closing door.  
  
~Ritsuko~  
  
" . . . so, why are they having something like this in a place like this? Is the SSDF getting involved?"  
  
Ritsuko kept her gaze on the laptop in front of her, analyzing the lines of code on its display. "The Strategic Self Defense Force? No, they're not allowed to." 'If Modular movement 1, walk cycle, begins, activate.'  
  
"I see, that's why they can do whatever they like. Sigh."  
  
Ritsuko was silent, and kept looking at her program. 'Disconnect valve control, value all, store data, delete, . . .'  
  
"Hey, Ritsuko, we're supposed to get off now." Ritsuko looked up to see her friend standing already.  
  
"Just a sec." She typed a few commands, and pulled out a disc from the laptop. Then she unfastened her harness and exited the helicopter. Blinking in the sunlight, she looked around for expected guest.  
  
Misato grumbled at all the landed helicopters. "Seems like they invited everyone to their little party."  
  
"Including NERV and its special company clerk, beautiful." Said a husky male voice behind the two ladies, one that annoyed Misato very much.  
  
"Kaji, what are you doing here?"  
  
The eternally unshaven man, dressed up for once in a suit but still looking a little rugged and base, put his arm around the Major's waist. "I was invited by NERV to come see this little demonstration. And of course, how could I refuse?"  
  
Misato pushed his arm off of her and stormed off, muttering curses. Ritsuko and Kaji stood in place, waiting for the pissed off Major to be a little distance.  
  
Kaji leaned in close to the blonde scientist. "So, you look lovely this evening."  
  
"Can't you ever be serious, Kaji? Even I can see why Misato doesn't like you. You're smothering her with that charm."  
  
"It's just the way I am. Do you have it?"  
  
Ritsuko pulled the disc out of her pocket. "This virus will keep the nuclear reactor's control pumps from functioning. It'll overheat while it walks; making it seem it'll meltdown in Atsugi City. However, once the temperature reaches a certain point, it will automatically shut down. All you have to do is load it into the JA's main mainframe."  
  
"Charming and intelligent, Ritsuko. Loading the virus won't be a problem, I'll be back for the opening ceremony."  
  
~0~  
  
"Titan, this is Iruma. We have unknown aircraft inbound. Vector zero-nine- zero for bogy."  
  
"Titan Twelve, we read you. Unknown contact at zero-nine-zero, range ten miles and closing bearing two seven three, intercepting."  
  
"Roger, that's your bogy."  
  
Two jets soared through the air, effortlessly passing over the clouds, the beauty of the skies evident to the pilots. Their world shifted as the predators banked right, heading for their prey.  
  
"You read him, Loner?"  
  
"Roger, looks like a single. Break right, Falcon, look for a trailer. I'll go head-to-head."  
  
"Roger that. Stay cool." One of the fighters banked right, angling to get a look for a possible aircraft hiding behind the first fighter. Distance closed and the pilot going head to head, Loner, could start to make out the jet in the distance.  
  
And the one following it. "Shit, there's two of them!!" Loner rolled his fighter and steered it right between the two incoming Hawks. As they passed, he noticed blue and grey trim on one of them.  
  
"Shit, Isaac's up here! Do you copy Falcon?"  
  
"Roger that. Remember; do not fire until fired upon."  
  
Loner pulled up hard on the stick, whipping his own Hawk around to face his opponents. However, they weren't sticking together anymore. The first was vectoring left, towards Falcon, and the other was looping to get behind Loner. Loner followed the retreating fighter. If they became hostile, he could take out the fighter going after Falcon, and Falcon could take out the fighter behind him.  
  
The seconds passed on tensely as the fighters closed in. Whoever shot first would be at an extreme disadvantage.  
  
And, unfortunately, it had been Falcon to fire first, a short machine gun burst towards his approaching fighter.  
  
All hell broke loose, with no time to think. Loner reacted on impulse, firing a missile and pulling up hard, releasing flares in case a missile had been fired at him.  
  
He rolled, getting a good view of the battle zone as he cruised inverted. Columns of smoke indicated missile paths and wreckage - at least two of the fighters were shot down.  
  
And according to radar readings, Falcon had been one of them. Despite himself, knowing he would not get an answer, Loner called, "Falcon, do you read me? Falcon, do you read me? Iruma, we have man down, man down, launch the alert fighter and rescue helicopters."  
  
Lock-on warnings flared to life around the pilot, as the surviving hostile used the few seconds Loner used to call in to get behind him and acquire a lock.  
  
"Shit!" Loner pulled hard on the stick and feathered this rudder, slowing the fighter to a stop and turning it to the side. A goose of thruster, and the square corner maneuver was complete, the missile unable to turn sharp enough to catch it target, exploding a safe distance away.  
  
But it wasn't over yet. The blue fighter behind Loner was turning, aiming for another shot.  
  
"Not so fast, buddy." Loner hit his afterburners and climbed, rolling halfway into a barrel roll and cutting his thrusters to slow him down. The enemy didn't compensate for his deceleration and blazed right past Loner's fighter and into his targeting reticule.  
  
Loner got a red lock immediately, and fired his missile. It streaked forward toward its target, and exploded in a brilliant ball of light. Loner's spirits were the same as the explosion, brilliant. He had wanted to shoot down Isaac 'Scar' Jule for a long time.  
  
He was so distracted, however, that Loner never saw the blue and grey fighter above him, or the missile. He was quite surprised when the warnings blared, and when the missile hit.  
  
However, instead of oblivion, as would be expected, the cockpit went dark. The canopy opened revealing harsh artificial light, tiled ceiling, and the smiling face of Kaworu 'Falcon' Nagisa.  
  
Shinji 'Loner' Ikari accepted the hand from Kaworu and climbed out of the simulator. Farther down, Issac 'Scar' Jule was climbing out of his own simulator.  
  
Kaworu voice was beaming. "That was excellent flying. I think even Scar learned something."  
  
Shinji shrugged. "I doubt it - I still got shot down. How did that happen, anyway?"  
  
Kaworu smiled. "Isaac let go of his last flare late. The missile impacted there. You couldn't see it from the angle you were at. He flew through a cloud and above you, and made the easy shot. You need to remember to check the radar every time after a shot. Looks can be deceiving."  
  
"I'll try to remember that."  
  
Isaac smiled sadistically. "You SHOULD remember that you can never beat me. Remember THAT, you dumbass."  
  
Kaworu sighed. "Don't listen to him; he's just afraid of you."  
  
"Afraid?" asked Shinji, confused.  
  
"I AIN'T AFRAID OF THAT . . . THAT . . . !"  
  
Kaworu ignored Isaac's ranting and led Shinji out to the hall and towards the lounge. "Just ignore him. He knows that you're good and getting better. That's why he's afraid of you - because one day you may surpass him."  
  
"I doubt it, but if you say so . . . I don't think I'll be of any use in real life."  
  
"What makes you say that?"  
  
"In the simulator, it's just a game. But in real life, with real people depending on me, I get scared. I'm just a nobody, how can they expect me to do something like this?"  
  
Kaworu put a reassuring hand on Shinji's shoulder. "Everyone is afraid the first time, that's natural. Even veterans get scared during battle. And everyone has to find a reason to fight, to overcome that fear. For me, I just have to think about all the people who might be saved, who might one day live on to create more music, if only I act. And I do."  
  
Shinji gulped nervously. "I don't think that will work for me, Kaworu. Thinking about people depending on me only gets me more worried."  
  
"Hey, just don't think about it for right now. You'll figure it out."  
  
Shinji nodded. "I guess . . . hey, by the way, why did you fire in the simulator? That's not like you . . ."  
  
Kaworu smiled sheepishly. "I didn't mean to . . . something pinched me through my flight suit, and I jerked in surprised and accidentally squeezed the trigger." Kaworu fished though his flight suit's pants pocket, and pulled out a twisted paper clip.  
  
Shinji laughed at the paper clip. "War was started because of that paper clip. Maybe we should give it over to a History Museum."  
  
Kaworu shrugged. "Yeah, Ripley's Believe it or Not . . ."  
  
~Misato~  
  
". . .but, from a safety perspective, isn't it risky to incorporate a nuclear reactor in a land-based weapon designed for hand-to-hand combat?"  
  
"We feel it is more practical then a weapon that will only work for more than five minutes."  
  
"But in a combat situation, if the unit is damaged, you risk having a nuclear explosion. Also, you would have remote control issues."  
  
"We feel it is more humane than a weapon that introduces mental stress and instability on the part of the pilot."  
  
Misato slumped in her seat. Once Ritsuko got started, she could go on for hours. Honestly, she felt a little embarrassed that she was only person near Ritsuko, while the other tables representing other interested parties were stuffed with decorations and wines bottles, not to mention loads of people.  
  
"Cut it out, you're acting like children . . ." Misato grumbled under her breath.  
  
"But it still leaves the issue of manual control . . ."  
  
"We believe it to be safer than a weapon that has been known to go out of control and run berserk in the middle of a city, not to mention consuming its target. A weapon that cannot be controlled is like a hysterical woman, completely out of control."  
  
Gales of laughter made Misato wince. They were laughing at Eva, and Ritsuko took pride in her work. This would probably turn ugly.  
  
"Our technology will be able to control it."  
  
"So are you saying that science and human courage will tame the savage Eva beast? Are you serious?"  
  
"Yes, of course I'm serious. It does not matter what you say, NERV has the only weapon capable of destroying the enemy."  
  
"You mean the A.T. Field? That is just a matter of time and research. Your day in the sun will not last forever."  
  
Laughter again became abundant.  
  
But elsewhere, in a computer, lines of codes were being changed and deleted. And a lone figure walked away from a secure terminal with a disc in hand.  
  
~Misato~  
  
"Begin walk cycle!"  
  
"Walking, forward ahead, slow. Forward Right Leg. Roger. Walk, forward ahead, slow. Forward, right leg. Balance is nominal. Power core status, nominal. Roger. Now, forward left leg. Keep her steady!"  
  
And a pair of arms wrapped around Misato's waist, once again. "Did I miss anything?" asked the familiar voice.  
  
Misato growled at her former boyfriend. "Just Ritsuko making a fool of herself. Let go of me. Where were you?"  
  
"I had to take care of some things. But I'm done on, so I can focus on you."  
  
"Focus on Jet Alone; you have a better chance with it." Misato pried his arms off and leaned against the wall, not giving the man another chance to hug her again.  
  
"Forward left leg, slow. Maintaining balance.  
  
Misato smirked. "Oh boy, it's walking. THAT'S certainly something to be proud of." She said, her voice dripping with sarcasm. Ritsuko and Kaji were silent.  
  
A large beep came from one of the many counsels.  
  
"What's wrong?"  
  
"This is odd. The pressure inside the reactor is increasing. The temperature inside the primary cooling system is also rising."  
  
"Valve open. Insert the neutron deceleration fluid."  
  
"No effect. The pump output isn't increasing!" said the tech, his voice betraying his worry. "Initiating valve system check." Meanwhile, JA was getting closer to the control building. Close enough that many of the occupants were backing away from the observation windows.  
  
"Alright, emergency stop. Cut off the power."  
  
"Abort signal transmission confirmed. It's not accepting it! It's out of control!"  
  
People started to flee as the director of the project stammered in shock.  
  
"It's coming right at us! No!"  
  
The ceiling crumbled as the Jet Alone torn right through the building, flattening machinery and consoles alike. Strong arms grabbed Misato and flung her to the ground, and a heavy weight pressed on top of her. She looked up to see Kaji bent over her, protecting her from falling concrete.  
  
Jet Alone continued to plow through the center, walking in a straight line.  
  
Dust came down, causing Misato to cough underneath of Kaji. 'This robot is as badly behaved as the idiot who built it!'  
  
When JA passed through and things stopped falling, Kaji let Misato up. Misato stood up, blushing. "Um, thank you, Kaji."  
  
Kaji only smiled.  
  
"Compression valves aren't operating! The control rods aren't working! Possibility of meltdown imminent!"  
  
The director looked pale and his voice was tiny. "This is impossible. The Jet Alone's onboard computer system is programmed to handle all contingencies and scenarios. This sort of thing simply cannot happen."  
  
Misato was furious. "Well, then you're about to have an impossible nuclear meltdown out there!"  
  
"Under the present circumstances, the only option we have is to wait for it to stop itself."  
  
"And how likely is that?"  
  
"Zero point zero zero zero zero two percent. It would be an act of god!"  
  
"Acts of men are better than acts of God. There must be a way to stop that thing."  
  
"We've already tried to stop that thing, even the last resort - complete erasure."  
  
Warnings blared from what equipment was still working. "Warning. Jet Alone is heading for Atsugi City."  
  
Cries of 'Oh my God' and other profanity came from the people and workers. A nuclear bomb was heading towards a massively populated area, and they were responsible.  
  
One of the techs consulted his console. "JA will reach Atsugi City in seven minutes. Its expected meltdown time is . . . eight minutes. Dear god . . ."  
  
Misato turned to Ritsuko. "Can we get an Eva here in that amount of time?"  
  
Ritsuko shook her head. "It takes three hundred and eighty seconds to prep for activation, plus loading an Eva onto the transport plane and actual flight time - there's no way. We can't move something like an Evangelion in that short amount of time."  
  
Misato sighed. "The people in Atsugi are in peril. There has to be something we can do." She paced around for a moment, before stopping dead in her tracks. "I got it! There's nothing but abandoned area between here and Atsugi. A nuclear explosion anywhere here would be negligible, as it's already been swamped with radiation. Therefore I suggest we force it to meltdown here."  
  
The director looked at Misato with a concerned look. "And how do you think you're going to do that?"  
  
Misato smiled. "NERV has more than just Evas."  
  
~Shinji~  
  
Shinji laid back, enjoying the comfortable chairs of the lounge, and the cool drink in his hand. Of course, it's amazing how much things can change in an instant.  
  
A screeching alarm came over the com, surprising Shinji and making him drop his soda. "This is an emergency. Titan Squadron scramble, scramble, scramble. This is an emergency."  
  
Kaworu was up the second he heard the alarm, and dragged the stunned Shinji behind him.  
  
"Kaworu! What . . . what is going on?!?"  
  
"I don't know! But we have to get up in the air! Get your flight suit on and launch ASAP!"  
  
As they entered the locker room, most of the squadron was already there, putting on their suits, donning their helmets or checking their air hoses. A few were already proceeding into the hangers.  
  
Shinji put on his flight suit and helmet in record time, but was still one of the last to get to the hangers. The whine of starting engines greeted him as he entered the hanger reserved for his wing group. The fighter he was assigned to was the standard grey with purple trim, to make it look like Eva Unit 01. He guessed it had been a joke from the mechanics.  
  
Right now, he wasn't too thrilled about the fighter. Not about the paint job, however. He couldn't care less about it, really, but right now it was configured as a Launcher Hawk. The first time he piloted a Launcher Hawk, the generator exploded. Although an emergency release to dump the extra equipment had been installed in case the improved generator overloaded again, he still felt uneasy.  
  
Shinji flipped the switch to power up his engines. They whined, and diagnostics came up on his HUD. Power was fed to his thrusters, and the jet began to vibrate rather nicely.  
  
Finally, the checkup was completed and this radio came on. Chatter and requests to take off flooded the com, but Shinji ignored them as he taxied his fighter out of the hanger and into an area that could withstand vertical takeoffs.  
  
"This is Loner, Titan Thirteen, to Iruma control, requesting clearance to take off."  
  
"Clearance granted, Titan Thirteen. Please set vector to two seven three, and accelerate to supersonic - your commander will brief you."  
  
"Thank you, Iruma control. Loner out."  
  
Shinji gripped the throttle in this left hand, and softly pushed the levers forward. Thrust from his engines was countered by thrust from his forward thruster, giving him only upward thrust. The fighter was pushed upward, and when he cleared the hanger building, he rotated the Hawk towards his vector and eased back on the forward thruster, pushing the fighter forward.  
  
Once the fighter gained enough speed to keep aloft without hovering, Shinji hit the afterburners and accelerated to mach speeds, trying to catch the already speeding squadron ahead of him. His fighter shook violently as he passed the sound barrier, the air hitting against the plane at incredible velocity. As he approached the speeding fighters, he took note that only he and Kaworu were using Launcher Hawks.  
  
Viper's voice came over the com channels. "Alright Titans, listen up. Here's what's going on. Japan's Heavy Chemical Industrial new product, codenamed Jet Alone, went out of control during a demonstration. Its nuclear reactor is going critical, and it's headed for Atsugi City."  
  
"Dear God . . ."  
  
"Before it reaches Atsugi City, however, it has to travel through abandoned area twenty six. Our job is to keep it in that area, at least fifty miles from Atsugi. At current speed, that only gives us two minutes to take it out."  
  
"Two minutes? Isn't that cutting it a little close?"  
  
"That's the way it is. Oh, and by the way, anyone who wants to sign a letter of protest to Japan Heavy Chemical, come to my office after this mission."  
  
Nervous laughter came from many of the fighters. Shinji pulled up alongside his wingman, Kaworu. The rest of his five-man flight, Titans Nine thorough Thirteen, was in the immediate vicinity, as was expected.  
  
But unlike the rest of the squadron, he was in a panic. Lives were depending on him. He couldn't fight; he was just a kid, right? What was he even doing here?!?  
  
"Thirty seconds until target. Alright gentlemen, we're going in hot."  
  
At the end of thirty seconds, Shinji pulled back his throttle and decelerated. The flattened ruins stopped speeding past him, and now he could make out individual buildings if he really tried. But Shinji's focus was on another, much more obvious object.  
  
"Is that an Eva, Leader?"  
  
"No, it can't be, Evas are uglier."  
  
"Like your mother?"  
  
"Less chatter, five and six. Arm your weapons. Launchers, power up your cannons. Engage. Engage. Engage."  
  
In less than a second after the order was given, over twenty missiles were launched at the giant white robot, none belonging to Shinji. As they streaked towards the monolith, Shinji felt like its destruction was assured. He didn't have to fight.  
  
Until the missiles started to explode one after another and not one hit the target.  
  
"What the hell? Not one made it?"  
  
"The fuck?"  
  
"QUIET!" Viper's loud voice betrayed his anxiety as the squad passed over the Jet Alone. "Does anyone know what is going on?"  
  
"Titan Eight, sir, I believe I saw flashes from its shoulders. If I had to guess, it's been equipped with anti-missile and aircraft machine guns."  
  
"Shit, one minute remaining until it reaches the perimeter."  
  
Shinji looked down at the target, trying to think about what to do.  
  
"Sir, Titan Twelve. Loner and I are Launchers. I suggest we make a run." Kaworu said, his voice not betraying any worry.  
  
"Understood. The fate of Atsugi is in your hands. Do it."  
  
"Roger. Starting the run." Kaworu banked and dived, lining his fighter up with Jet Alone. Shinji, however, remained in straight flight.  
  
'People's lives are . . . me? Eva . . .? Like Eva?'  
  
"Loner, make your run."  
  
'I can't . . . I can't . . . Why does everyone depend on me?'  
  
"Thirty seconds until perimeter . . ."  
  
"TITAN THIRTEEN, MAKE YOUR RUN!!"  
  
'Why!?!'  
  
"Please, Shinji." Kaworu's voice was a light through the sudden fog of fright in Shinji's mind. He didn't know why he had to, but just because Kaworu, not Viper, not Misato, not Asuka, not his father, but Kaworu, asked, he suddenly knew he had to.  
  
"Titan Thirteen, making my run!"  
  
"Fifteen seconds!"  
  
Shinji passed the Jet Alone at mach speeds, inverted and pulled back on the stick. His fighter sped towards the ground, barely pulling level before striking the ground hard. The Jet Alone was right in front of him, and Shinji lined up his reticule.  
  
"Loner, aim for the left leg!"  
  
"Roger!" A slight adjustment and pull of the trigger, and the Agni Cannon fired a blast that connected right above the left knee of the robot. At the same instant, Kaworu's blast connected directly opposite of Shinji's, blasting the leg clean off.  
  
Jet Alone stumbled and fell, parts being crushed under its weight and momentum as it fell to the ground with a crunch. The JA tried to continue walking on the ground, even with its legs gone. Rolls of steam billowed out of its backpack, indications that the nuclear reactor stored there was about to go critical.  
  
"IT'S GOING TO BLOW!! EVERYONE, GET OUT OF THERE!" screamed one of the fighters. In the confusion, Shinji couldn't tell who.  
  
Shinji pushed his throttle hard forward and his afterburners lit, slamming the boy into his seat at the sudden acceleration. He could see other the other fighters doing the same, taking off at various directions, desperate to get some distance between them and Jet Alone.  
  
A sudden flash of light blinded him for a second, prompting him to look back behind him.  
  
He could make out a small mushroom cloud over the horizon.  
  
"All fighters, return to base. All fighters, return to base."  
  
Shinji banked his fighter to the right, engaged the autopilot and sank into his seat. He suddenly felt exhausted, like he had run a marathon, as the adrenaline wore off.  
  
"I think I'll take Viper's offer and sign that damn protest."  
  
AUTHOR'S NOTE  
  
IDEA REFERENCE:  
  
www . mahq . net / mecha / gundam / seed /ts-ma03 . htm 


	6. God's Wings 0:6 All Good Things Must Com...

Neo Genesis Evangelion: God's Wings All good things must come to an end.  
  
~???~  
  
"Hurry up with that! We're seven percent behind schedule!" "Primary restraints disabled, now transferring to the cart!" "Terminal plug fused to the cart, beginning security checks." "Eva Unit 01 has been secured in the cart. Begin lockdown."  
  
The scene was reminiscent of Gulliver's Travels. The large purple Evangelion was being strapped down and restrained inside a clumsy looking apparatus that was even larger than the Eva itself. NERV personal swarmed around the beast like ants, taking measurements and performing checks to make sure the Eva was secure and that it wasn't responding to their efforts to transport it.  
  
The Eva had been sitting in a heavily secured storage unit for close to three months. Not once had it stirred or shown any activity. It had not moved since it engaged the Third Angel and absorbed it. And now the people moving it hoped it would stay that way while it was transported to Norway for observation.  
  
But one man among those didn't think along those lines. He wanted the Eva to stay for a little longer. That was his mission. That was what he was told to make happen. And that is what he did when he pressed the button on the remote detonator in his hand.  
  
A small explosive ignited the internal fuel pumps on the cart's side. The fire spread through its internal structure, melting critical parts along its right side from within. Chaos reigned for a few minutes as chief technicians tried to restore order and figure out what happened.  
  
They did not notice the large man calmly leave the holding area. This man proceeded past people rushing towards the commotion, and into an elevator that was rarely used: the elevator that led to the office of Commander Ikari.  
  
The man stepped out into the large room. Despite the numerous times he had been here, he could not get used to the cavernous and forbidding feel to it. He tried to shake off the unpleasant feel and plastered a wicked smile on his face as he stepped up to the desk and the man behind it.  
  
Gendo Ikari glared at the man through his shades, his hands still folded in front of him and waited for the man to speak.  
  
"It is my . . . displeasure . . . to report to you that there has been an accident with the fuel pumps in the holding bay. The cart, as they call it, has sustained damage and certain parts will have to be replaced. The estimated time those repairs to be made is one week." The man's smile grew. "As ordered."  
  
Gendo didn't react to the report. His voice carried no message. "Dismissed."  
  
The tall, unshaven form of Kaji turned from the Commander and proceeded back to the elevator from which he came. As he left, the commander spared a glance at a small calendar hidden from view behind his desk, where the twenty third of February was circled in blood red and marked 'Ramiel'.  
  
Today was the sixteenth.  
  
~Shinji~  
  
"An explosion? At NERV? When?" asked a curious Shinji as he continued cleaning.  
  
Misato sighed. "A few hours ago. There was a spark in a fuel pump - we're guessing bad wiring. But the cart that was designed to carry Unit 01 to Norway was damaged. Until it's repaired, we're going to have to hold to it for a little longer."  
  
"Was anyone hurt?"  
  
"No, at least not seriously. It was all internal damage." Misato reached up and put a dish of instant food in the microwave. "But there will be a casualty later on. All the paperwork is going to kill me."  
  
Shinji sighed at his guardian's lame attempt at humor. He didn't need this right now. Not now. "Misato, please. . ."  
  
"I know, I know. Don't embarrass you. You've only said it a couple dozen times. A day. For the past week." came Misato's reply.  
  
"I'm serious, Misato. This is the first time he's going to meet you and Asuka, and I don't want him thinking bad about me because you two acted, well . . . like yourselves."  
  
"Are you implying that I am lazy or something?"  
  
"Yes, among other things." repled Shinji calmly.  
  
Misato slumped in defeat. "Ok, ok. I'll try not to be myself, ok?"  
  
"Perfect."  
  
Misato cringed. This was getting out of control and escape was the best course of action. "BY the way, where in the world did Asuka run off to?"  
  
"She left right after school with Hikari."  
  
Misato growled. "Didn't you tell her that your friend was coming over? And that we had work to do to prepare?"  
  
"Of course. Why else do you think she's staying away from home for a little while?"  
  
"That sounds just like her all right." Misato sighed. "She'll show up right before we put the food on the table."  
  
"Speaking of food, how is it coming?"  
  
"It'll be done in a few minutes, Shinji. Relax."  
  
"That's what I was worried about." said Shinji dejectfully. "I was thinking that you were ordering out when you said 'Cooking by the best you have ever known', not a different type of instant junk. I'm afraid that he might not make it out of here alive."  
  
"Har har. You're getting as bad as Ritsuko was, Shinji."  
  
The pair stopped when they heard the door of the apartment open along with the rustle of shoes being removed. "Asuka, is that you?" called Misato.  
  
"Yeah, it's me, Misato. Is that guy here yet?" came Asuka's high voice from the front door.  
  
"No, Asuka, he isn't. He'll be here any moment. Be nice."  
  
"YES, ma'am."  
  
"MA'AM!?!" screeched Misato.  
  
Asuka ignored Misato's outburst and shut herself up in her room. Rustling of clothes told Shinji that she was changing out of her school uniform. He sighed and continued to straighten up the living room.  
  
Asuka ppeared a moment later out of her room wearing her sundress and sat down on the couch, watching as Shinji worked to make the place neat. Shinji glanced up at the girl from where he was picking up things off the floor.  
  
"I could use a hand, Asuka. These are YOUR magazines."  
  
"Not my friend coming here. You do it."  
  
"I seem to recall you bossing me around to clean up when Hikari first came over. You could just be nice, you know."  
  
Asuka turned to him, her eyes narrowed. "You sure seem bossy all of a sudden, Mr. I've-got-a-friend-coming-you-better-behave."  
  
"I don't want to be embarrassed, that's all. It's bad enough that Misato tricked me into letting her cook."  
  
Asuka sat upright. "Misato's cooking and an 'abandon apartment' call hasn't been made?"  
  
"I HEARD THAT!" said a frustrated Misato from the kitchen.  
  
A quiet knock stopped the argument before it even got started, announcing the arrival of their guest.  
  
"He's here!" Shinji looked down at the small stack of magazines in his hand, the last little bit of clutter in the room. He looked for a place to put them quickly before coming to a hasty conclusion. He shoved them onto Asuka's lap none too gently and jogged to the door.  
  
Beyond it was Shinji's good friend and wingman, Kaworu. His thin smile greeted the boy, and Shinji couldn't help but smile in return.  
  
"Please, come in, Kaworu."  
  
"My pleasure, Shinji. Thank you for inviting me for dinner." replied the grey-haired boy, bowing.  
  
"Thank me afterwards. You might not survive the cooking."  
  
Kaworu chuckled. "I've managed to take down a large walking robot, I think I can handle whatever disaster you or your roommates can come up with."  
  
"You've been warned."  
  
Shinji lead him to the living room, but when he entered a thrown magazine promptly hit him, leaving a long red streak across his face.  
  
"Third, don't do that again!!"  
  
Shinji winced in pain and Kaworu glanced at the angry redhead on the couch. "You must be Asuka. Shinji has spoken of you often and in high standards." He reached forward and gently took her hand and pressed it to his lips. "You're as pretty as he said."  
  
"Wha . . . ah . . . er . . ." Shinji's mouth hung open as he watched his friend play smooth with Asuka.  
  
Asuka smiled. "Glad to see SOMEONE here has some manners."  
  
Shinji's eyes bugged out. " . . . oh man . . ."  
  
Misato poked her head out of the kitchen. "Hey, Shinji, the food's . . . oh, you must be Kaworu." She held out her hand. "I'm Misato."  
  
Kaworu smiled. "A pleasure to meet you, Misato. Shinji is lucky to live with two fine young women like yourselves."  
  
Asuka beamed. "Yeah, the idiot doesn't know how good he has it to live with me. I don't know why I put up with him."  
  
"But perhaps you don't know how lucky you are to live with him, Ms. Sohryu." replied Kaworu, smiling kindly.  
  
"What do you mean by that?"  
  
Kaworu smiled at her, but not in a threatening way. "He tells me many stories about some plush toy . . ."  
  
~Kaworu~  
  
"Shinji, please, it was wrong of me." said Kaworu for the eight time in the last five minutes.  
  
"No, what was wrong was the way she decked you. You didn't deserve that."  
  
"It's in the past, Shinji. In fact, it doesn't even itch anymore." said Kaworu, trying to surpress the urge to scracth the bandage covering the bridge of his nose.  
  
"I'm surprised you can feel anything anymore there. And that bandage on your nose makes you look goofy. But anyway, I'm still sorry. First Asuka decks you and ignores you the rest of the time because of some joke not even I get yet, much less you, then Misato nearly burns down the complex . . . I still don't see how instant ramen can catch fire like that . . . I thought she nearly killed PenPen . . ."  
  
Kaworu sighed. Shinji was so worried that he would think ill of him that he couldn't see the obvious. Despite having his nose broken, he had a great time at his visit last week. It was certainly an experience. But now things were back to normal, hanging with Shinji at Iruma Air Base on the weekend following the 'incident'.  
  
" . . . and that thing with the fridge was unbelievable . . . I didn't know beer could do that . . . but, it was one big disaster. I'm so sorry, Kaworu . . ."  
  
Kaworu patted Shinji's shoulder. "Shinji, I did have fun and I'm not saying that just to make you feel better. In fact, if things went smoothly I would have been bored."  
  
When Shinji looked up in bewilderment, Kaworu explained. "If a plane flies straight without turning, it will get to its destination quickly and efficiently. But make the same trip again and again, over and over, and the pilot quickly loses his will to fly because he knows what to expect."  
  
"However, if each trip is different, and filled with the unexpected, the pilot will continue to fly time and time again, and each time more willing than the last."  
  
"But . . . why?" asked Shinji, confused at what his wingman was getting at.  
  
"Life is change and change is life, Shinji. That change, along with a person's desire to keep changing, whether good for the bad or bad for the good, is what gives a person the will to keep living for the future, Shinji. Hope that things will change for the good."  
  
"I . . . don't understand, Kaworu."  
  
Kaworu chuckled. "I guess I am being a little philosophical. Don't worry about it, you'll understand with experience."  
  
Shinji shrugged. "Speaking of experience, what is going on next Saturday? The entire base is being put on Alert Status 2 all day."  
  
Kaworu's eyes widened. "You don't know? Eva Unit 01 is being moved tomorrow. And that's not all that's going to happen . . ."  
  
"What else?"  
  
"Well . . . you really don't know? . . . I can't tell you if you don't know."  
  
Shinji slumped his shoulders in confusion. "Alright, I don't want you in trouble because of me. Want to get in some simulator work?"  
  
Kaworu smiled. "Sure, why not?"  
  
~Misato~  
  
" . . ."  
  
" . . ."  
  
" . . . Status."  
  
"They've passed the eighteenth way point and are proceeding into the wastelands."  
  
Misato didn't move, or show any signs that she heard him. She, along with the entire NERV Bridge, was staring intently at the holographic display on the main viewer. The tension was so thick a person could be smothered by it by just looking in the room.  
  
For relaying such important information, the display on the monitor was simple. Just a dot moving along a zigzagging line. In actuality, it showed the path that the convoy carrying Unit 01 through the mountains and into port to be shipped via sea to Norway.  
  
" . . ."  
  
" . . ."  
  
**beep** That simple noise made half the crew jump and begin searching their consoles for the source, before noticing a slightly sheepish looking Ritsuko pulling a mug out of the coffee machine.  
  
"Seems like everyone is a little jumpy." Observed the eternally calm scientist.  
  
Misato sighed. "Can you blame them? The last time we did something like this Unit 01 went berserk. Once it's in Norway I'll feel better."  
  
" . . . Agreed." Said Ritsuko as she brought her cup to her lips.  
  
"Convoy entering the second refueling depot. Estimated down time for refueling is twenty eight minutes."  
  
Tense silence reigned once again in the command center.  
  
~Shinji~  
  
"Shinji, what bothering you?" asked Kaworu as he observed his quiet friend.  
  
"Huh?" replied Shinji, breaking his sudden daze.  
  
The Titan Squadron sat in the waiting lounge on alert status. Some were pacing in the ready room, anxious for news. Others calmly read, not believing that a convoy over three hundred miles away now would be a concern for them.  
  
"I don't know . . ." answered Shinji quietly. " . . . Déjà vu . . ."  
  
Kaworu placed a calming hand on his shoulder. "Don't worry. Nothing bad will happen to you. I won't let it."  
  
~Misato~  
  
A phone that is rarely used, placed near the Commander's desk, rings. Fuyusuki calmly, despite everyone's attention suddenly being on him, answers it. A simple phone call, a few seconds of conversation, and all hell breaks loose.  
  
"An unknown object is passing Tonosawa, believed to be the Fifth Angel."  
  
Stillness turned to commotion in a matter of seconds, as the personnel began processing and collecting data, preparing for the Angel.  
  
"Go to First Stage Alert. What's the condition of Unit 00 and 02?" called the Vice Commander, his voice rising over the sudden noise of activity.  
  
"They can be ready in 380 seconds."  
  
"Make it so." Came the calm reply for Commander Ikari.  
  
The phone responsible for the commotion rings once again. Once again Fuyusuki answers it.  
  
"What? You're sure?" Fusuki's face grew dismal as new news was conveyed to him. " . . . . . . Understood." The second in command places the phone on the receiver, and turns to his only superior. "Ikari, the Angel isn't headed here."  
  
"Explain."  
  
"The Angel is on a high speed intercept course for the convoy carrying Unit 01. ETA sixteen minutes."  
  
And for the second time in history, the first being when Unit 01 went berserk and absorbed the Third Angel, Gendo Ikari bolted upright from his seat.  
  
The entire room froze at Gendo's display of shock. The moment was still, save for the flashing lights of some monitors as the Bridge crew observed their commander and waited for his reaction, and his orders.  
  
Gendo calmly resumed his posture and glared down at his Director of Operations.  
  
"The Angel is on an intercept course for Unit 01. Do not, under any circumstances, allow it to be captured or destroyed by the Angel. You have your orders." He added with menance.  
  
Misato nodded, her face suddenly grim. "Yes sir. Prep the Evangelions for flight. Get the children here and suited up immediately. Get any equipment and weapons you can get loaded in the amount of time we have ready to go."  
  
Ritsuko glared at her friend. "It will take ten minutes for the Evas to get loaded, plus twenty to actually fly the three hundred miles, Misato. We don't have enough time."  
  
Misato glared at the scientist. "Then we'll have to make the time. Get in contact with the convoy, and tell them to prepare. Also, alert all our support and tell anything that can make the distance in that time to get moving. It's suicide, but it's all we can do until the Evas get there. Let's just hope it's enough."  
  
~Shinji~  
  
Alarms were blaring and people were rushing. Utter chaos reigned, as it seemed the entire base was suddenly in a frantic spin to do something. If it wasn't for Kaworu pulling Shinji along, Shinji thought he might have been crushed in the sea of humanity.  
  
Two crowded hallways and a door later found the two fighter pilots inside the Squadron's locker room, which was mostly empty. The abundance of empty lockers told them that most of their fellow pilots were already on their way to their aircraft.  
  
In fact, as they entered, a pair of pilots, Cougar and Merlin if Shinji remembered correctly, were leaving out the door to the hanger. He caught a passing word between them, and he feared.  
  
"Time for Angel number three, eh?" said the man, casually.  
  
Shinji suddenly didn't feel so good. An Angel . . . they were going up against an Angel?  
  
"They're wrong." Whispered Kaworu, once the two pilots had left.  
  
Shinji glanced at his friend, but he couldn't read his expression. "This is the fifth Angel." He commented as he pulled out his flight suit.  
  
Shinji followed suit and geared up, but mentally counted how many Angels he knew about. "If this is an Angel . . . then it would be the third, right?"  
  
Kaworu finished zipping up his flight suit. "No. This is the fifth. Five out of seventeen. The first two . . . you should find out about for yourself."  
  
"Kaworu . . . how do you know this? And why tell me?" asked Shinji, confused on how his friend would know this, and his sudden change in attitude. Did he miss something?  
  
" . . . Goodbye, Shinji."  
  
Shinji watched the grey haired boy leave, his face hidden behind a mask of sorrow. "Kaworu . . . what's gotten into you all of a sudden?"  
  
~Misato~  
  
Misato's hand was clutched hard as she watched the tactical display. This Angel couldn't have picked a worse time or a worse place to attack. The refueling point was enclosed in a mountainous region, to inhibit the Eva in case it went rouge again. But now it was working against NERV. The Angel was floating right over the mountains, while most of the ground forces would take hours to get there.  
  
"The Evas have been loaded onto their transport planes, and the pilots are standing by." called one of the techs.  
  
Misato nodded. "Launch them immediately. What's the target's ETA to Unit 01?"  
  
"Six minutes."  
  
"And time for intercept for our fighters?"  
  
"Three minutes."  
  
Misato slumped. Those fighter squadrons were the only ones who could make the distance in time, but if they couldn't slow down the Angel, at least until the other Evas arrived, Unit 01 would be a sitting duck.  
  
And another worry: she tried to order Titan thirteen - Shinji - to remain grounded, but Commander Ikari belayed it. Many of those fighters were probably going to be destroyed. She didn't want Shinji to be one of them, but it seemed like the Commander was more concerned about giving Unit 01 as much of a chance as possible instead of the life of his own son.  
  
The minutes clicked by slowly, until finally . . .  
  
"Ma'am, the fighters have reached firing range."  
  
Misato shook away her uneasiness and snapped back into major-mode. "Tell them to engage."  
  
~Shinji~  
  
One hundred and forty four fighters of various designs, coming from Iruma and various aircraft carriers, littered the skies. Passing through clouds, afterburners blazing, rushing to what could be their deaths. It seemed . . . mortifying to Shinji in some way.  
  
Kaworu wasn't helping, either. He refused to say anything besides 'Yes' and 'Roger' to the Squad leader, and not a word to Shinji. Perhaps he was gearing up for combat, Shinji mused, but that certainly didn't help his own mood very much.  
  
He glanced towards the person in question. His fighter was a little ahead of him, obvious to spot with its grey and red paint job. It was pretty distinctive - Shinji could probably pick it out even if mix in with all the other fighters here.  
  
Shinji took a deep breath and griped the controls on his own Sky Hawk. God what he would give for some music right now to calm his nerves. He could almost he the singing voices of . . . wait . . .  
  
"Does anyone else hear that?"  
  
Commander Viper's hard voice called over the com. "Whoever is broadcasting that music, stop it right now."  
  
"Negative, sir, it's not coming over the com - it's from outside."  
  
"The fuck?"  
  
"Sir, thirty seconds to target."  
  
"Roger that, ignore whatever that singing is and line up on target. Begin your runs."  
  
One by one, the squads dipped down below the cloud cover. Titan Squad followed suit, and once below the clouds the Angel was obvious. A large object made of triangles floated on over the mountains.  
  
"Alright Titans, listen up. Remember that the Evas are on their way. We just have to stall it until they get here in about fifteen minutes. It's supposed target is twenty miles due east, stored in a large armored bunker."  
  
"What's the target?" queqed on of the other squad members. Shinji was about to ask if Unit 01 was the Angel's target, but bit his lip. He decided he really didn't want to know.  
  
"That's been deemed classified, Cooly. Just engage the target."  
  
"Bureaucrats" muttered someone over the channel.  
  
"Less chatter, Scar. Our target will be within range in fifteen seconds. Arm your weapons."  
  
Shinji brought up his targeting systems, and immediately the reticule turned red with a long, solid tone indicating a good lock, not surprising since the target was so damn large a blind person could hit it. Shinji pulled the trigger, and one of his eight missiles streaked off towards the diamond shaped Angel.  
  
In less than a second, over a hundred missiles were launched. Fire and smoke from the detonating missiles blocked the view of the target. The fighters continued to approach, but refused to fire until the target's condition was confirmed. Those who thought the Angel was destroyed in the barrage were giving taunts and catcalls over the COM.  
  
Then the smoke parted as a large particle beam shot out of the Angel's midsection and pierced though the center of the formation. Explosions from fighters too close to the beam lit up the nearby skies, while the rest scrambled out of the beam path.  
  
"We're not getting through! We're not . . ."  
  
"Where the hell are those reinforcements!?!"  
  
"Arrrrrrrrggggghhhhhh . . ."  
  
The Angel fired again, and more planes exploded in a ball of flames. Shinji banked left and dropped altitude before releasing another missile, which exploded against the Angel's A.T. Field.  
  
More missiles from every angle struck the shield, making it plain to see. However, none were getting through. They weren't even slowing the thing down.  
  
"What the hell is . . ."  
  
The Angel continued to fire, and each time more balls of explosions lit up the sky. Occasionally the Angel's shots were aimed at the ground, probably impacting the bunker were the Angel's target was. Shinji was getting some distance from the Angel, getting some distance away from the doomsday creature. Conventional weapons couldn't hurt an Angel.  
  
And he was alone. Kaworu didn't follow him when he went low, and Shinji couldn't spot his fighter. He made a quick silent prayer that Kaworu was one of the many flaming wrecks plummeting to Earth right now.  
  
His course brought him over a mountain pass, and there below, he could barely make out the bunker that was the Angel's target. There was little movement that he could see - most of the workers probably fled. The bunker itself was fairly large, a half hexagon. Part of the roof was missing, probably from one of the Angel's blasts. He could see fire.  
  
Shinji completed his U-turn in time to see the blast. The Angel's beam streaked above him, disentigrating a fighter plane above him. The blast was close enough to damage his right wing engine, and without compensation, the left engine pushed his fighter into a spin.  
  
The stick flew out of Shinji's hand as the g-forces pressed against him. The fighter tumbled, losing altitude fast. By some miracle Shinji's hands found the stick, and with both hands, pulled it back as hard as he could.  
  
The nose of the fighter leveled up, barely in time to avoid a head-on collision with the ground. Instead, the fighter slammed into the ground and skidded, metal scrapping and sparks flying out where it touched the ground. The momentum carried the torn-up jet sideways and slammed through what was left of the bunker's door before finally stopping when it crashed into a big stack of fuel barrels.  
  
Shinji opened his eyes to view a cracked canopy and smoke. Sparks were flying out of the diagnostic boards, and he could see some sort of liquid flowing out across the canopy, some of it seeping in through the cracks. It smelled like gas.  
  
A sudden fear filled Shinji's veins as he struggled to release his harness. It loosened against him the moment he hit the release buckle, thankfully. Then he reached behind him and pulled on one of the cords hanging behind him.  
  
A loud bang and pop was heard as the explosive bolts around the canopy blew, sending the glass portion skyrocketing. Shinji grabbed the side of the craft and hauled himself out. He dropped the distance to the floor in a crouch and took off running.  
  
The fuel, now uninhibited by the canopy spilled into the damaged cockpit and towards the sparks. Shinji continued running, looking desperately for any kind of cover. He found it behind a large structure, and barely a split second after he crouched down the sparks ignited the fuel.  
  
The noise was deafening, even when he covered his ears. Heat seemed to be everywhere, all at once. The ground shook with tremendous force. And as fast as it came it went.  
  
Shinji kept crouching for a moment until he was sure that the explosion had settled. Daring to open his eyes, he opened to see trouble.  
  
The explosion had damaged a good portion of the bunker. Apparently, the flaming fuel had set fire to other nearby apparatus. An entire side was engulfed in flame, and it was spreading. There wasn't much light, the only illumination was given by the fire and indirect sunlight coming from the bunker's entrance.  
  
He was crouched behind some sort of armor panel. It appeared to be damaged - there were parts similar to it half melted or broken lying all around. Lying on top of those armored panels was something purple and green, Shinji couldn't really tell what since it was shaped funny. But its identity became clear when he glanced farther down the strange shaft, and saw what was unmistakably a hand.  
  
'An arm! It's Unit 01's arm!' Breathing heavily, his heart pounding, Shinji ducked underneath the armor and behind the arm. Unit 01 was lying on its back, held up about thirty feet by those armor panels and supports.  
  
He could hear that singing again. Its source wasn't too far away. In fact, he could see that damn Diamond hovering over the mountains already. And Shinji knew something was wrong . . .  
  
'It's not firing! What happened to all the fighters? Are they . . .? Are they . . .?' Shinji thought, panicked. If all the fighters were downed, then Kaworu was . . .  
  
The Angel fired at the bunker. The ground shook again, and pieces of ceiling came crashing down. There was another smaller explosion towards the back - flames were erupting out of one of the doors and across the floor.  
  
Shinji looked up to see the Angel hovering over the bunker, its surfaces gleaming in the sunlight. It's singing was all around, like some beacon of death. But there was also a familiar whine of a fighter plane in the air.  
  
Shinji could see it now, a grey and red Sky Hawk. The one Shinji could pick out among a thousand planes as Kaworu's. It soared past the bunker and towards the Angel. There was an explosion of fire against the Angel - apparently he had fired a missile.  
  
Dread filled Shinji. If Kaworu kept provoking the Angel, it was going to kill him. "Kaworu! Get out of there! KAWORU!"  
  
The distant fighter ignored Shinji's desperate pleas as it looped behind the Angel, coming in for another pass at the unstoppable beast. The fighter sped past Shinji's line of sight, rolling to make itself a tough target for the Angel. The Angel fired once again, the blast missing the fighter by a few feet and slammed somewhere near the damaged bunker.  
  
The impact of the blow knocked not only Shinji off his feet, but also collapsed a large portion of what remained of the bunker's roof. The little view Shinji had of the outside area was gone in a flash, covered by piled up debris. The only thing that he could sense was the music of the Angel, a mocking melody that constantly reminded the boy that the Angel was out there, a threat to both him and his only true friend.  
  
'If I don't do something, Kaworu will . . . Kaworu will . . ." Shinji clutched his chest to try to squelch the sudden cold fear that gripped his heart. He stood up, looking around desperately to find a way to get out of the blazing bunker. His eyes fell upon what remained of his fighter, now a smoldering wreck, not good for anything aside from food for the fire. All the doors were either covered with debris or were spewing fire.  
  
Another blast rocked the structure, and the roof blucked. Large cement portions of the roof collasped, threatening the crush the young boy. Shinji had about enough time to look up and scream.  
  
"AAAAHH!"  
  
Shinji blinked in the split second before the concrete was to crush him. The was a mighy crash and thud, and Shinji was sure to have been crushed . . . until he realized that he was in no pain, nor had anything really hit him. He dared open his eyes . . .  
  
Shinji was unharmed, protected once again by the hand of Unit 01. The wreckage of what once held the arm was scattered junk now, and the arm was held out over the boy. Shinji stared at the arm, overcome with a sense of déjà vu. He followed the hand down the arm, until it reached the Eva's head. The head had turned, and it now stared at the boy with glowing eyes.  
  
Shinji stared at the head, and it stared back. The large head seemed to grow larger in Shinji's vision, and it took a moment for him to realize that he was walking towards it.  
  
Unit 01 stared at Shinji. Shinji stared at Unit 01. Slowly, he reached out towards the Eva, his fingers shaking in fear and excitement.  
  
'Why?'  
  
"Why do you do this? Why do you protect me?"  
  
Shinji stopped his hand a few inches from the closest armor plate. At the same time, the fire crept closer to the largest supply of fuel in the bunker.  
  
"Why do you protect me, and not my friends?"  
  
Shinji reached out to touch the armor of the Evangelion, but the second before he touched, he grew angry at the monster.  
  
"WHY DO YOU PROTECT ME AND NOT KAWORU!?!"  
  
Shinji's hand balled into a fist, and he punched the Eva with all of his remaining strength. The moment Eva and boy touched, the head moved forwards slightly to allow the entry plug to emerge from the Eva's neck, surprising Shinji so that he pulled back.  
  
Shinji stared at the open entry plug. The crackling flames and the dreadful song of the approaching Angel filled his ears, and filled his heart with dread. Both he and Kaworu would be dead if something wasn't done fast.  
  
But to pilot something as unknown, as dangerous as Unit 01 again . . . if it went out of control again, it could be Kaworu getting hurt this time, just like Touji's sister had been.  
  
Shinji slowly reached out and touched the Eva again, as if touching it would bring about understanding on what to do. His fingers made contact, and an image of a soaring hawk filled his mind.  
  
The image was solid in his mind, but slowly was replaced by one that he was more familiar with. The sight of a fighter plane, unusual for it's two engines on the tips of its wings and a large laser cannon. It sat on the deck of the 'Over the Rainbow', next to its melted brother.  
  
A soft, familiar female voice filled Shinji's head as the view moved to a smiling Kaworu. "Isn't it worth the risk to help those you care about?"  
  
Shinji started, and his hand separated from Unit 01. He shook his head furiously to try to clear his mind of the not-so-alien image. But the impression stayed stuck to his mind.  
  
"This is just like before!" Shinji exclaimed to no one. "I took a risk to help Asuka, and piloted the Launcher Hawk. Now . . . now . . . if I pilot Eva 01 . . . I can help out Kaworu. But who was that voice?"  
  
Possibility after possibility ran through Shinji's mind. The sound of that voice was so familiar, but like a passing dream. "Rei . . . Misato . . . Hikari . . . Ritsuko?"  
  
Shinji silently climbed into the open entry plug, his mind filled with confusion over the voice and the need to help his friend. As he sat, the plug seal closed automatically, sealing the boy in darkness.  
  
The entry plug zoomed back into the Eva, and locked into place. The second it finished, the rest of the fuel ignited, covering the entire area with fire and smoke. Inside the plug, pillars of light were streaking past Shinji as the plug started up and synchronization started. Shinji desperately pleaded that the processes hurry up so he could help Kaworu . . . before that damn Angel decides to use him as target practice.  
  
Meanwhile, Unit 01's eyes glowed brightly as it was once again reunited with its pilot. Ignoring the fires blazing all around and the numerous embers falling on the Eva the left arm flexed, easily breaking the heavily armored restraints that held it. The legs bent, debris from the now ruined bindings sliding off the shins. More explosions rocked the unstable compound, as munitions were set ablaze, filling the area with fire and licking at the arms, fingers and legs of Unit 01 as it stood up, free of the carrier that contained it. Just one second later, the bunker gave out under the stress and collapsed.  
  
The bunker's collapse nearly buried the Eva, but despite the weight of tons of concrete, Unit 01 broke free with just a small leap, smoke trailing as it landed easily outside of the ruined bunker.  
  
Inside the plug, Shinji gripped the controls tightly and scanned the skies for his friend, ignoring the floating Angel for a moment. That moment turned out to be a deadly mistake. Out of the corner of his eye and way too late to do anything, Shinji saw the Angel begin to glow.  
  
The Eva pilot barely had time to turn his head to the threat before the beam fired. It shot out towards the Eva, about to pierce the monolith's chest before something grey and red flashed in front of Shinji, intercepting the beam before it reached the purple Eva.  
  
Time froze for Shinji the moment that beam struck the unintended target. What should have only lasted but a split second seemed to carry on for long minutes as Shinji watched the red and grey fighter being engulfed by flame and light. For that agonizing second in time, one thought surfaced in Shinji's mind.  
  
'. . . goodbye, Shinji.'  
  
"KAAAAAAWORU!"  
  
~Asuka~  
  
Asuka stared at the image displayed on Unit 02's COM window. Satellite feed was coming in, and the pilot of the Eva carrier was kind enough to link it to her COM. She watched the numerous fighters being slaughtered by the Angel's attacks, and the fighter's pitiful attempts to slow it down. Soon, all the fighters were either destroyed or retreating.  
  
The red-haired girl privately wondered what category Shinji fit in, the running or the dead, and thought running would better suit what she knew of the boy instead of going out like a hero in a blaze of glory. Or maybe he was that lone fighter that kept circling the bunker, but somehow she doubted it.  
  
Not even he was that stupid.  
  
The bunker itself wasn't doing too well. Two shots from the Angel already had the structure blazing, and since it was her job to protect that bunker and whatever was inside it, she was getting agitated thinking that she mighted have already have failed before she even arrived to save the day.  
  
"How in the world are we supposed to protect something that will be destroyed before we can even get to it?!? PILOT! Can't you go any faster?!?"  
  
"Sorry, ma'am, but for the third time, no, I cannot." Despite the unknown pilot's forced monotone, Asuka knew she was annoying him. His lack of emotion only got her angrier. With a noise of disgust, Asuka turned her attention back to the satellite feed . . . just in time to see the bunker collapse.  
  
"SCIESTE! We just . . . huh?" Asuka swallowed her words as something purple and green broke free of the wreckage. There was a flash, and a split second later the feed cut off.  
  
"Was that Unit 01? PILOT! What happened to the feed?!?"  
  
Asuka didn't have time to hear his response as the plane was rocked by some sort of turbulance. The vibrations were intense, causing Asuka to grip her Eva's controls tightly for support.  
  
"What the hell was that?!? Answer me, dammit!" shouted the infuriated Eva pilot.  
  
"Y . Y . Y . You ought to s . s . s . see this . . ." came the pilot's now shaken reply. A new com window came up in front of Asuka, and it's imaging made her jaw drop. The view was from a camera, probably on the Eva carrier somewhere based on the angle, but it showed a horrific sight.  
  
Where the bunker had been was now a massive cyclone that was tearing up trees and land, so thick with dirt and debris that Asuka could barely see past it. But instead of starting in the sky, it seemed to begin at the ground level and worked its way towards the darkened sky. In the twister's center was something even more frightening . . . a small, black figure, hovering high above the ground, crying out like a wounded bird and attached to it's back was . . .  
  
" . . . wings . . ." observed Asuka in a small voice. Three times the length as the Eva itself, mostly transparent but glowing orange and seemingly made of energy. ". . . those are wings . . ." 


End file.
